Basketball Game Preview: Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Saints vs. Catholic Crusaders

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy hasn't had much luck against Catholic recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The two teams will face off at 7:00 p.m. without much rest, having both just played. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

On Thursday, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy came up short against Peninsula Catholic and fell 67-55. While losing is never fun, the Saints can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 181st, while the Knights are ranked 28th).

Madden Gilliatt

Points

02/13/25 vs Peninsula Catholic	19
02/12/25 vs Steward	28
02/07/25 @ First Colonial	30
02/06/25 vs Hampton Roads Academy	26
02/04/25 @ Norfolk Collegiate	21
+ 9 more games

Despite their defeat, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Madden Gilliatt, who dropped a double-double with 19 points and ten rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Gilliatt's evening made it 14 games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. KJ Pidgeon was another key player, going 5-for-7 to rack up 13 points and five boards.

Meanwhile, Catholic had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.6 points) and they went ahead and made it nine on Thursday. They blew past the Trojans, posting a 75-29 victory. The Crusaders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matches by 22 points or more this season.

Catholic pushed their record up to 18-8 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.8 points over those games. As for Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-9.

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy took a serious blow against Catholic in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 76-36. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Catholic's Ashton Walker, who went 11-for-16 en route to 22 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals. Now that Nansemond-Suffolk Academy knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.