Pathway Christian hasn't had much luck against Faith Christian recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Pathway Christian Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Faith Christian Falcons at 6:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Pathway Christian took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They came out on top against Tri-State Christian by a score of 56-45.
Pathway Christian's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Denver Nelson, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 20 points and five assists. That makes it five consecutive games in which Nelson has scored at least a third of Pathway Christian's points. Another player making a difference was Preston Yutzy, who went 6 for 10 en route to 13 points.
Meanwhile, Faith Christian came tearing into Friday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Knights 48-25. The Falcons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 21 points or more this season.
Faith Christian's win came from a few key players Pathway Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Isaiah Schuler, who posted ten points. Levi Slagter was another key player, putting up eight points and seven boards.
Nelson wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Faith Christian was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Unity Christian only posted eight assists.
Faith Christian pushed their record up to 17-1 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.4 points per game. As for Pathway Christian, the win got them back to even at 8-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pathway Christian has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 21.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Faith Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Pathway Christian was taken down by Faith Christian 79-26 in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Pathway Christian was down 45-16.
