Basketball Game Preview: John Carroll Patriots vs. Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers

The John Carroll Patriots and the Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers will compete for holiday cheer at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

John Carroll is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Maryland's top teams: Glenelg Country, who was ranked eighth at the time (John Carroll was ranked ninth). John Carroll fell to Glenelg Country 65-61. The Patriots have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Archbishop Spalding, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Sunday. They skirted past Boys Latin 74-72.

Archbishop Spalding's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-3. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.9 points per game. As for John Carroll, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-2.

John Carroll suffered a grim 69-47 defeat to Archbishop Spalding when the teams last played back in February. Can John Carroll avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.