Preview: Clayton-Bradley Academy Blazers vs. First Baptist Academy Eagles
The Clayton-Bradley Academy Blazers and the First Baptist Academy Eagles will face off at 7:30 p.m. on February 2nd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Clayton-Bradley Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 15 on Tuesday.
Clayton-Bradley Academy came into Tuesday's matchup having lost six straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They took down Apostolic Christian 53-39. The win was just what Clayton-Bradley Academy needed coming off of a 73-51 defeat in their prior match.
Sam McNeal was his usual excellent self, scoring 20 points along with five steals. Dustin Henderlight was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, First Baptist Academy pushed their score all the way to 57 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They were beaten by Concord Christian 86-57.
First Baptist Academy's defeat came about despite a quality game from Cooper Roberts, who scored 33 points along with eight rebounds. That was a full 57.9% of First Baptist Academy's points, marking the 15th time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Cooper Mercer, who scored nine points along with six rebounds and five assists.
Clayton-Bradley Academy's win ended a eight-game drought on the road and puts them at 7-14. As for First Baptist Academy, they have not been sharp recently as the team's lost 14 of their last 15 games, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-23 record this season.
Clayton-Bradley Academy didn't have too much breathing room in their game against the Eagles when the teams last played back in December of 2023, but they still walked away with a 67-63 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Clayton-Bradley Academy since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
