Basketball Game Preview: New Jerusalem Christian Academy Eagles vs. Brandon Academy Scorpions

The New Jerusalem Christian Academy Eagles will challenge the Brandon Academy Scorpions at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. New Jerusalem Christian Academy is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last seven games.

New Jerusalem Christian Academy will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Ruskin Christian, who they had gone 0-6 against in their six prior meetings. New Jerusalem Christian Academy snuck past Ruskin Christian with a 41-35 win on Tuesday.

Elijah Marcellus continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 20 points and ten rebounds. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Donathan Edwards, who posted four points in addition to six boards and three steals.

Meanwhile, Brandon Academy sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 49-46 victory over American Youth Academy on Tuesday.

Brandon Academy's win came from a few key players New Jerusalem Christian Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Rashad Carriera, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 12 rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to boards, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Chris Harris, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 14 boards.

Brandon Academy's win bumped their record up to 5-1. As for New Jerusalem Christian Academy, their victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-2.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: New Jerusalem Christian Academy has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Brandon Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 36 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.