Ezekiel Academy hasn't had much luck against Wiregrass recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Ezekiel Academy Knights just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Wiregrass Kings at 8:00 p.m. Ezekiel Academy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 62.3 points per game this season.
Ezekiel Academy will head into Monday's matchup having proved themselves against Victory Christian Academy: Ezekiel Academy took a 22-point defeat the last time they faced off against Victory Christian Academy, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. Ezekiel Academy narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Victory Christian Academy 64-61. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 126th, while the Eagles are ranked 352nd), the result on Monday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ezekiel Academy's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Elijah Taylor, who went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc on his way to 27 points and seven rebounds, and Kelson Free, who posted 14 points in addition to five assists and five steals. Another player making a difference was Caden Pond, who earned nine points and five boards.
Meanwhile, Wiregrass was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a 41-30 hit to the loss column at the hands of Southern Christian.
Ezekiel Academy will need focus on slowing down Tucker Duren, one of several Wiregrass players who made an impact when they last played. He scored 14 points and five rebounds. The dominant performance gave Duren a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Treadaway, who put up six points along with five boards and five steals.
Ezekiel Academy pushed their record up to 24-5 with the win, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.0 points per game. As for Wiregrass, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-21.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Ezekiel Academy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Wiregrass struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Ezekiel Academy strolled past Wiregrass in their previous meeting back in December of 2024 by a score of 61-43. Will Ezekiel Academy repeat their success, or does Wiregrass have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
