Basketball Recap: Caleb Nicely's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Covenant over Mount Hope Christian Academy

Covenant easily dispatched Rose Hill Christian last Friday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Covenant Eagles fell just short of the Mount Hope Christian Academy Warriors by a score of 49-47 on Friday. The Eagles have struggled against the Warriors recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Several Eagles players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Caleb Nicely, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 boards. Nicely is also crushing it when it comes to steals: he's grabbed at least five every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Micah Nicely, who posted 11 points.

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

Mount Hope Christian Academy got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was RYAN PERRY out in front who went 6 of 7 on his way to 13 points. The team also got some help courtesy of TALAN CARON, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Having lost for the first time this season, Covenant fell to 2-1. As for Mount Hope Christian Academy, their victory was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-5 and their overall record up to 4-6.

Covenant didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 57-52 win against Hannan on the 14th. As for Mount Hope Christian Academy, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 50-37 victory against Parkersburg Christian on the 14th.