Basketball Recap: Friday's Defeat Ends Wilmington Christian Academy's Winning Streak

Patriots

Previous 5 Games

01/17/25 @ Hilltop Christian	43-51
01/14/25 @ Wake Christian Academy	67-45
01/13/25 vs Southside Christian	66-20
01/07/25 @ Bethel Christian Academy	60-18
01/04/25 vs Aussie Travelers (Brisbane, Australia)	66-49

After a string of five wins, Wilmington Christian Academy's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell 51-43 to the Hilltop Christian Chargers. The contest marked the Patriots' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Wilmington Christian Academy lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Jordan Escoffrey, who went 8 for 17 en route to 22 points. Maddox Batts was another key player, putting up four points and 17 rebounds.

Even though they lost, Wilmington Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in four consecutive matches.

Hilltop Christian had a senior duo take command as Caleb Manriquez went 6 of 13 on his way to 19 points and four steals and Philip Joyner went 5 for 10 en route to 16 points. Manriquez has been hot, having posted two or more steals the last five times he's played. Another player making a difference was Joseph McCabe, who posted six points and six boards.

Wilmington Christian Academy's loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 10-9. As for Hilltop Christian, the win was the eighth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 16-3.

Wilmington Christian Academy will head out to face off against Liberty Christian Academy at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Wilmington Christian Academy is facing Liberty Christian Academy at the right time seeing as Liberty Christian Academy is stuck on a three-game losing streak. As for Hilltop Christian, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Faith Christian Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Faith Christian Academy knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 14 games -- so hopefully Hilltop Christian likes a good challenge.