Two dominant forwards in Chris Eagan and Lusemo Macharia are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Charlotte Catholic Cougars will head out to face off against the Independence Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Charlotte Catholic knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight matches -- so hopefully Independence likes a good challenge.
It was a proper cat-fight when Charlotte Catholic faced off against Providence on Friday. Charlotte Catholic enjoyed a cozy 63-47 win over Providence. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 37th, while the Panthers are ranked 296th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Charlotte Catholic got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Jack Siegel out in front who went 5 for 12 en route to 17 points and seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Eagan, who went 7 of 9 on his way to 14 points and five boards.
Charlotte Catholic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.
Independence has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They fell 57-49 to Ambassador Christian School on Friday.
Charlotte Catholic will have to contain Daniel Waritay as he made an impact in Independence's last game. He went 5 for 7 en route to 12 points. Another player making a difference was Kaleb Jasper, who posted 14 points.
Charlotte Catholic pushed their record up to 15-4 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.3 points per game. As for Independence, their loss dropped their record down to 14-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Charlotte Catholic has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 30.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Independence struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Charlotte Catholic came up short against Independence in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, falling 63-51. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Macharia, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 12 boards. Now that Charlotte Catholic knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
