After both having extra time off, the Sugar Creek Charter Wildcats and the Piedmont Community Charter Patriots will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Sugar Creek Charter has five straight wins, Piedmont Community Charter has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Last Saturday, Sugar Creek Charter humbled North Hills Christian with a 92-54 victory. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 22 points or more this season.
| 12/21/24 vs North Hills Christian | 27 |
| 12/13/24 vs Valor Preparatory Academy | 14 |
| 12/10/24 @ Carolina Christian | 12 |
| 12/18/24 @ Garinger | 11 |
| 12/05/24 vs Greater Cabarrus S | 6 |
Sugar Creek Charter had a senior duo take command as Jayden Levan- Israel went 6 of 7 from beyond the arc on his way to 27 points and Aidan Gatewood went 8 for 11 en route to 23 points and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Levan- Israel has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Terry Watson, who posted nine points.
Meanwhile, Piedmont Community Charter was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap two weeks ago as they fell 60-55 to Bradford Prep.
Sugar Creek Charter will need focus on slowing down Henry Peprah, one of several Piedmont Community Charter players who made an impact when they last played. He went 8 of 18 on his way to 20 points and seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Neves McElhaney, who put up 13 points.
Sugar Creek Charter is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.4 points per game. As for Piedmont Community Charter, they now have a losing record at 4-5.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's contest: Sugar Creek Charter has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 37.8% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Piedmont Community Charter, though, as they've only made 29.3% of their three-pointers this season. Given Sugar Creek Charter's sizable advantage in that area, Piedmont Community Charter will need to find a way to close that gap.
Sugar Creek Charter suffered a grim 83-59 defeat to Piedmont Community Charter in their previous meeting back in January. Thankfully for Sugar Creek Charter, Bobby Erwin (who went 9 for 13 on his way to 20 points and eight assists) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
