Basketball Game Preview: Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders vs. Leesville Road Pride

The Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders will head out to square off against the Leesville Road Pride at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Cardinal Gibbons took a loss when they played away from home last Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They strolled past Enloe with points to spare, taking the game 59-44. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 55th, while the Eagles are ranked 399th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Cardinal Gibbons to victory, but perhaps none more so than Walker Montague, who posted 13 points. Another player making a difference was Cash McSweeney, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Cardinal Gibbons was working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Enloe only posted three assists.

Meanwhile, Leesville Road fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against Broughton on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 65-64 to the Capitals. The Pride have struggled against the Capitals recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.

Leesville Road's defeat dropped their record down to 9-5. As for Cardinal Gibbons, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season.

Cardinal Gibbons came out on top in a nail-biter against Leesville Road in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, sneaking past 59-56. Does Cardinal Gibbons have another victory up their sleeve, or will Leesville Road turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.