Preview: Smith Academy Fighting 54th vs. Fort Wayne Canterbury Cavaliers
Smith Academy is 0-9 against Fort Wayne Canterbury since February of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Smith Academy Fighting 54th will be playing at home against the Fort Wayne Canterbury Cavaliers at 2:30 p.m. Smith Academy is out to stop a 12-game streak of losses at home dating back to last season.
Last Tuesday, Smith Academy came up short against Hamilton and fell 30-20.
Meanwhile, Fort Wayne Canterbury beat Prairie Heights 56-43 on Tuesday. Given Fort Wayne Canterbury's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 171st, while Prairie Heights is ranked 434th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fort Wayne Canterbury's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Colin Burda led the charge by scoring 12 points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Burda has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Devon Lewis, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds.
Smith Academy has not been sharp recently as the team's lost ten of their last 11 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-13 record this season. As for Fort Wayne Canterbury, they now have a winning record of 9-8.
Smith Academy came up short against Fort Wayne Canterbury in their previous meeting back in March of 2023, falling 47-40. Thankfully for Smith Academy, Will Russell (who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and five assists) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
