Basketball Game Preview: Academy at the Lakes Wildcats vs. Bishop McLaughlin Catholic Hurricanes

The Academy at the Lakes Wildcats will face off against the Bishop McLaughlin Catholic Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Academy at the Lakes is coming into the match on a four-game losing streak.

Last Friday, Academy at the Lakes lost to Hernando on the road by a 60-41 margin.

Bishop McLaughlin Catholic has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They fell 57-45 to Keswick Christian on Tuesday.

Academy at the Lakes will need focus on slowing down Conor Whalen, one of several Bishop McLaughlin Catholic players who made an impact when they last played. He went 7 for 12 on his way to 17 points and five rebounds. Alexavier Dorval-Ferris was another key player, going 7 of 12 on his way to 14 points and seven rebounds.

Even though they lost, Bishop McLaughlin Catholic was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.

Bishop McLaughlin Catholic's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-3. As for Academy at the Lakes, their loss dropped their record down to 3-8.

Academy at the Lakes came up short against Bishop McLaughlin Catholic in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, falling 58-46. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bishop McLaughlin Catholic's Jacob Mekdeci, who went 7 of 14 on his way to 17 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals. Now that Academy at the Lakes knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.