Preview: Mercer Christian Academy Cavaliers vs. Mount Hope Christian Academy Warriors
Mercer Christian Academy is 9-0 against Mount Hope Christian Academy since November of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Mercer Christian Academy Cavaliers will be playing at home against the Mount Hope Christian Academy Warriors at 4:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a four-game winning streak alive.
Last Thursday, Mercer Christian Academy didn't have too much trouble with Jefferson Christian Academy on the road as they won 54-39. Given Mercer Christian Academy's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 81st in West Virginia, while Jefferson Christian Academy is ranked 309th in Virginia), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Mercer Christian Academy to victory, but perhaps none more so than MJ Patton, who scored 21 points along with four steals. Patton is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last six games he's played. Chance Watkins was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds.
Mount Hope Christian Academy proved they can win big on Tuesday (they won by 31) but on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged Victory Baptist Academy out 66-64. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory Mount Hope Christian Academy has posted yet this season.
The match pitted two dominant players against one another in NOLAN CARNEY and Landon Cormican. CARNEY had a great game and scored 14 points along with four steals. Meanwhile, Cormican was balling out in the loss, scoring 21 points along with three steals.
Mercer Christian Academy's win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-6. As for Mount Hope Christian Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 5-9.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Mercer Christian Academy hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 55.4 points per game. However, it's not like Mount Hope Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 54.9 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything went Mercer Christian Academy's way against Mount Hope Christian Academy when the teams last played back in November of 2023 as Mercer Christian Academy made off with a 69-47 victory. Will Mercer Christian Academy repeat their success, or does Mount Hope Christian Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
