Basketball Game Preview: Houston Academy Raiders vs. Wicksburg Panthers

The Houston Academy Raiders will challenge the Wicksburg Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Wicksburg took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Houston Academy, who comes in off a win.

Houston Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Tuesday as they easily beat Northside Methodist Academy 93-48. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 133rd, while the Knights are ranked 388th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Wicksburg came up short against Slocomb on Tuesday, falling 62-42.

Houston Academy pushed their record up to 7-4 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.3 points per game. As for Wicksburg, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-11 record this season.

Houston Academy didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Wicksburg in their previous meeting back in February of 2022, but they still walked away with a 61-57 victory. Will Houston Academy repeat their success, or does Wicksburg have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.