Basketball Recap: Hilltop Christian Beats Wilmington Christian Academy for Their Eighth Straight Victory

Chargers

Previous Games

01/17/25 vs Wilmington Christian Academy	51-43
01/16/25 @ Greenville Christian Academy	72-51
01/14/25 @ New Life Christian Academy	79-17
01/09/25 @ Wilson Christian Academy	66-38
01/07/25 vs Jacksonville Christian Academy	67-26
+ 3 more games

Hilltop Christian waltzed into their matchup on Friday with seven straight wins... but they left with eight. They walked away with a 51-43 victory over the Wilmington Christian Academy Patriots. That's more bragging rights for the Chargers, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.

Hilltop Christian had a senior duo take command as Caleb Manriquez went 6 of 13 en route to 19 points and four steals and Philip Joyner went 5 for 10 on his way 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 rebounds.

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

Hilltop Christian has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-3 record this season. As for Wilmington Christian Academy, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 10-9.

Hilltop Christian will be playing at home against Faith Christian Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are headed into the matchup with plenty of momentum (Hilltop Christian has won 13 straight at home dating back to last season, while Faith Christian Academy won four straight on the road), something that'll have to change. As for Wilmington Christian Academy, they will head out to square 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.