Basketball Game Preview: Academy of the New Church Lions vs. St. Francis Prep Terriers

The Academy of the New Church Lions and the St. Francis Prep Terriers will round out the year against one another at at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Academy of the New Church's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five matches.

Academy of the New Church will head out to face St. Francis Prep after giving up their first home loss of the season on Wednesday. Academy of the New Church took a 67-63 hit to the loss column at the hands of Cristo Rey Philadelphia.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Marquis Newson, who went 6 for 13 on his way to 16 points and seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Warren, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 14 points and seven rebounds.

Even though they lost, Academy of the New Church smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in five consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for St. Francis Prep, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. They managed a 66-62 win over Pembroke Pines Charter on Saturday. Given the Terriers' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 15th in New York, while the Jaguars are ranked 61st in Florida), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

St. Francis Prep pushed their record up to 6-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.4 points per game. As for Academy of the New Church, their defeat ended a 17-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 4-4.