Basketball Game Preview: St. Mary's Academy Crusaders vs. La Salette Academy Lions

The St. Mary's Academy Crusaders are taking a road trip to face off against the La Salette Academy Lions at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. St. Mary's Academy will be strutting in after a win while La Salette Academy will be coming in after a loss.

Last Monday, St. Mary's Academy beat Wichita HomeSchool 49-39. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Crusaders.

La Salette Academy has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They were beaten by Robinson 77-46 on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Lions have suffered since December 17, 2024.

St. Mary's Academy will have to keep a close watch on Benedict Blood and Owen Whitehead, a pair of players who had a big impact on La Salette Academy's prior game. Blood went 6-for-13 en route to 14 points and six rebounds, while Whitehead posted ten points. The dominant performance gave Blood a new career-high in points. Andrew Sick was another key player, putting up six points.

St. Mary's Academy's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-13. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.0 points over those games. As for La Salette Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 17-9.

St. Mary's Academy couldn't quite finish off La Salette Academy in their previous matchup back in February of 2016 and fell 64-62. Can St. Mary's Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.