Basketball Game Preview: Tri-Cities Christian Eagles vs. Lakeway Christian Academy Lions

The Tri-Cities Christian Eagles and the Lakeway Christian Academy Lions will round out the year against one another at at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Tri-Cities Christian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.3 points per game this season.

Tri-Cities Christian's tournament run continued when they took on DeKalb County on Friday. Tri-Cities Christian enjoyed a cozy 56-39 victory over DeKalb County. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 130th, while the Tigers are ranked 271st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Tri-Cities Christian's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Emery Haws, who posted 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Michaela Dixon, who went 5 of 9 on her way to 13 points.

Meanwhile, Lakeway Christian Academy lost to Riverdale on the road by a 54-37 margin on Saturday. The Lions have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Tri-Cities Christian will have to contain Kami Wilson as she made an impact in Lakeway Christian Academy's last game. She put up 23 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals. Wilson's afternoon made it 13 games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kennedy Whetzel, who had six points.

Tri-Cities Christian's win bumped their record up to 9-6. As for Lakeway Christian Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 4-6.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Tri-Cities Christian has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lakeway Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Tri-Cities Christian took a serious blow against Lakeway Christian Academy in their previous matchup back in February of 2019, falling 85-14. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Tri-Cities Christian was down 50-8.