The Grace Academy Lions and the Metrolina Christian Academy Warriors will round out the year against one another at at 1:00 p.m. on Monday. One thing working in Grace Academy's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last nine matches.
Last Saturday, Grace Academy strolled past West Mecklenburg with points to spare, taking the game 87-69.
Evan Buslovich
| 12/28/24 vs West Mecklenburg | 23 |
| 12/27/24 vs Garinger | 17 |
| 12/19/24 @ Varsity Opponent | 32 |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Grace Academy to victory, but perhaps none more so than Evan Buslovich, who almost dropped a double-double on 23 points and nine rebounds. The contest was Buslovich's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Carson Payne, who posted 26 points.
Meanwhile, while it was all tied up 16-16 at halftime, Metrolina Christian Academy was not quite South Point's equal in the second half on Saturday. They fell just short of the Red Raiders by a score of 41-38. The Warriors' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Grace Academy will have to keep a close watch on Tyler Gadd and Malachi Wilson, a pair of players who had a big impact on Metrolina Christian Academy's prior game. Gadd dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 boards, while Wilson put up ten points in addition to five boards and three steals. The dominant performance also gave Gadd a new career-high in blocks (two).
Even though they lost, Metrolina Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in four consecutive games.
Metrolina Christian Academy now has a losing record at 6-7. As for Grace Academy, their win bumped their record up to 10-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Grace Academy has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Metrolina Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Grace Academy ended up a good deal behind Metrolina Christian Academy when the teams last played back in January of 2017, losing 90-75. Can Grace Academy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
