Preview: Holy Cross Lancers vs. Doane Academy
Holy Cross has been on the road for four straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will take on Doane Academy at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Holy Cross has not done well against Westampton Tech recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Holy Cross walked away with a 44-31 win over Westampton Tech. The win was just what Holy Cross needed coming off of a 61-29 defeat in their prior game.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Holy Cross to victory, but perhaps none more so than Avian Novoa, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Emmanuel Doku, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you make five more threes than your opponent, a fact Doane Academy proved on Thursday. They enjoyed a cozy 60-44 victory over Pennsauken Tech.
It was another big night for Nick Fusco, who scored 28 points along with two steals. That makes it six consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Doane Academy's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Hiatt Smith, who scored eight points along with eight rebounds.
Holy Cross is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a massive bump to their 13-13 record this season. As for Doane Academy, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 8-18.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Holy Cross have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Doane Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Holy Cross couldn't quite finish off Doane Academy in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 and fell 54-51. Will Holy Cross have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
