Ezekiel Academy is on a seven-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Evangel Christian is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Ezekiel Academy Knights will host the Evangel Christian Lightning at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Ezekiel Academy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 63.5 points per game this season.
Last Tuesday, Ezekiel Academy was able to grind out a solid win over East Central HomeSchool, taking the game 54-47.
Kelson Free and Elijah Taylor were among the main playmakers for Ezekiel Academy as the former posted 21 points along with eight rebounds and three steals and the latter put up 18 points and six boards. Taylor continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Gerard Johnson was another key player, putting up seven points and 11 boards.
Ezekiel Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as East Central HomeSchool only pulled down six offensive boards.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Evangel Christian's strategy against Tuscaloosa Home Educators on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Evangel Christian blew Tuscaloosa Home Educators out of the water with a 65-35 final score. The Lightning have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 29 points or more this season.
Evangel Christian's win came from a few key players Ezekiel Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Asa Wagoner, who went 7 for 9 on his way to 17 points and three steals. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Cade Joiner, who scored eight points and eight rebounds.
Evangel Christian is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.4 points per game. As for Ezekiel Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 20-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Ezekiel Academy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Evangel Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Ezekiel Academy might still be hurting after the 50-24 loss they got from Evangel Christian in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. That match was all but decided by halftime, at which point Ezekiel Academy was down 35-9.
