Basketball Game Preview: American Heritage Stallions vs. St. John Paul II Academy Eagles

American Heritage hasn't had much luck against St. John Paul II Academy recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The American Heritage Stallions just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the St. John Paul II Academy Eagles at 7:00 p.m.

American Heritage is headed into the matchup having just suffered their closest loss since December 30, 2023 on Wednesday. They fell just short of Inlet Grove by a score of 40-37. The game marked the Stallions' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Meanwhile, St. John Paul II Academy didn't have too much trouble with Katz Yeshiva on Tuesday as they won 77-63.

St. John Paul II Academy's win came from a few key players American Heritage will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Dior Johnson, who went 10 for 19 on his way to 24 points and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Sebastian Mesa, who went 7 of 11 on his way to 15 points and six steals.

St. John Paul II Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

St. John Paul II Academy has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.6 points per game. As for American Heritage, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-3.

American Heritage came up short against St. John Paul II Academy when the teams last played back in January of 2022, falling 59-47. Thankfully for American Heritage, Kyle Edison (who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.