Basketball Game Preview: Virginia Episcopal School Bishops vs. North Cross Raiders

Two dominant guards in Kaloyan Kolev and Jesiah Hines are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Virginia Episcopal School Bishops are taking a road trip to take on the North Cross Raiders at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Virginia Episcopal School is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak.

On Saturday, Virginia Episcopal School came up short against Peninsula Catholic and fell 61-52. While losing is never fun, the Bishops can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 160th, while the Knights are ranked 48th).

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for North Cross, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They enjoyed a cozy 84-67 win over Eastern Mennonite on Thursday.

Virginia Episcopal School better focus on containing Hines and Antonio Mack as the pair were huge in North Cross' win. Hines went 11 of 22 en route to 29 points along with six assists and five boards, while Mack went 9 for 22 on his way to 25 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists. The matchup was Hines' 15th in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaleb Robinson, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 12 rebounds.

North Cross smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since back in December of 2023.

North Cross pushed their record up to 10-3 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 75.0 points per game. As for Virginia Episcopal School, their loss dropped their record down to 6-10.

Virginia Episcopal School came up short against North Cross in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, falling 60-56. Can Virginia Episcopal School avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.