Basketball Game Preview: Socrates Academy Owls vs. UR Academy Lions

Two dominant forwards in JP Polburn and Jordan Miller are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Socrates Academy Owls will square off against the UR Academy Lions at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Socrates Academy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 65.2 points per game this season.

Last Monday, Socrates Academy ended up a good deal behind Grace Academy and lost 80-63. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Owls came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 70th, while the Lions are ranked 325th).

Despite their loss, Socrates Academy saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Polburn, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 18 boards, was perhaps the best of all. Polburn is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least ten every time he's taken the court this season. Kinston Swann was another key player, putting up 14 points along with five boards and three steals.

Meanwhile, UR Academy was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Thursday as they fell 52-46 to Mountain View Christian Academy. The Lions have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Socrates Academy will have to contain Gabriel Thompson as he made an impact in UR Academy's last game. He almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. That was a full 43.5% of UR Academy's points, marking the third time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brysen Parker, who had eight points and six boards.

Socrates Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 2-4. As for UR Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 11-10.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Socrates Academy has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 32.4 boards per game. However, it's not like UR Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.