Basketball Game Preview: Grace Academy Lions vs. Lee Park Prep Knights

Two dominant guards in Carson Payne and Isaac Watkins are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Grace Academy Lions and the Lee Park Prep Knights will face off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday without much rest having both just played. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Grace Academy took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They came out on top against Lab University Prep Varsity by a score of 80-72.

Meanwhile, Lee Park Prep entered their tilt with Walnut Grove Christian on Thursday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They walked away with a 78-65 win over the Christian Warriors.

Grace Academy better keep an eye on Watkins. He was instrumental in Lee Park Prep's win, dropping a double-double on 20 points and ten boards. Watkins is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last 11 games he's played. Brody Adams was another key player, going 9 for 14 on his way to 20 points and eight rebounds.

Lee Park Prep has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.7 points per game. As for Grace Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 17-5.

Grace Academy strolled past Lee Park Prep in their previous matchup back in January of 2020 by a score of 83-64. Will Grace Academy repeat their success, or does Lee Park Prep have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.