Basketball Preview: Emery Spartans vs. American Leadership Academy Eagles
The Emery Spartans will head out to take on the American Leadership Academy Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Emery and Providence Hall met for a duel on Wednesday where Emery prevailed. Emery really took it to Providence Hall for the full four quarters, racking up a 78-32 victory. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Spartans had established a 32 point advantage.
Jace Frandsen was a one-man wrecking crew for Emery as he shot 7-for-13 from downtown and dropped a double-double on 30 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Frandsen a new career-high in threes (seven). Scott Johansen was another key player, going 7 for 13 en route to 16 points plus three steals.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask American Leadership Academy). They took their matchup on Tuesday with ease, bagging a 97-41 win over Pinnacle. The Eagles' victory was nothing new given the team hasn't lost yet this season.
American Leadership Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Malakai Mack, who went 9 for 16 en route to 22 points plus six assists and six steals. Mack is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Kobe Ross, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 assists.
American Leadership Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 15 offensive rebounds in four consecutive matches.
American Leadership Academy pushed their record up to 4-0 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 51.3 points. As for Emery, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Emery and American Leadership Academy are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Emery hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 58 points per game. However, it's not like American Leadership Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 85.8. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything came up roses for Emery against American Leadership Academy when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as the squad secured an 84-39 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was American Leadership Academy's Tad Swarnes, who went 5 for 7 en route to 19 points plus six rebounds and two steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Emery still be able to contain Swarnes? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
