Basketball Game Preview: Excelsior Classical Academy Flying Lions vs. Henderson Collegiate Pride + Official Tickets

Excelsior Classical Academy is preparing for their first conference matchup of the season on Tuesday. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Henderson Collegiate Pride at 7:00 p.m. Excelsior Classical Academy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50 points per game this season.

On Wednesday, Excelsior Classical Academy was able to grind out a solid win over Triangle Math & Science Academy, taking the game 54-44. The Flying Lions pushed the score to 47-27 by the end of the third, a deficit the Tigers cut but never quite recovered from.

Tyler Hill

Points

12/10/25 vs Triangle Math & Science Academy	22
12/01/25 vs The Hawbridge School	29
11/20/25 @ Emerson Waldorf	20
11/19/25 @ Triangle Math & Science Academy	16
11/17/25 vs The Hawbridge School	31
11/13/25 vs Durham School of the Arts	20

Tyler Hill had another great game (as he tends to do), dropping a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds. His evening made it six games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Shawn Francis-Service, who posted ten points along with eight steals and five assists.

Excelsior Classical Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Triangle Math & Science Academy only racked up six.

Meanwhile, Henderson Collegiate played a tough game on Thursday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were beaten by Eno River Academy 79-44. While losing is never fun, the Pride can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 412th, while the Bobcats are ranked 159th).

Excelsior Classical Academy has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.2 points over those games. As for Henderson Collegiate, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost five of their last six matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-6 record this season.

Excelsior Classical Academy beat Henderson Collegiate 57-48 in their previous meeting back in January. Will the Flying Lions repeat their success, or do the Pride have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.