Preview: Pathways Eagles vs. Hope Academy Trojan Tigers
Pathways is 5-0 against Hope Academy since December of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Pathways Eagles will be playing in front of their home fans against the Hope Academy Trojan Tigers at 7:00 p.m. Pathways will be looking to keep their five-game home win streak alive.
Last Tuesday, Pathways had just enough and edged Non Varsity Opponent out 48-45.
Carlos Escalera and Adrian Mutothori were among the main playmakers for Pathways as the former scored 17 points along with 8 rebounds and the latter scored 18 points along with 5 rebounds. That makes it four consecutive games in which Escalera has scored at least 25% of Pathways' points.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up seven more assists than your opponent, a fact Hope Academy proved on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 77-51 margin over Wildwood.
Hope Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Dwayne Foreman III, who scored 14 points along with 6 assists. The matchup was Foreman III's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Nathaniel Boyer, who scored 14 points.
Pathways' win bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Hope Academy, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Pathways have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Hope Academy struggles in that department as they've been even better at 25.2 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
Pathways didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Hope Academy in their previous meeting on November 14th, but they still walked away with a 60-55 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Hope Academy's Boyer, who went 6 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 18 points and 2 assists. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Pathways still be able to contain him? There's only one way to find out.
