Basketball Game Preview: Bishop O'Connell Knights vs. St. John's Cadets

Bishop O'Connell hasn't had much luck against St. John recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Bishop O'Connell Knights will be taking part in a tournament against the St. John's Cadets at 2:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Bishop O'Connell is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Archbishop Carroll, who was ranked 19th in their home state at the time (Bishop O'Connell was ranked fifth). Bishop O'Connell secured a 65-59 W over Archbishop Carroll on Tuesday. The Knights haven't had any issues with the Lions recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.

Shane Lincoln

Rebounds (Career)

02/18/25 @ Archbishop Carroll	10
02/16/25 vs Our Lady of Good Counsel	9
11/30/24 @ Duncanville	9
01/25/25 @ Quincy	7
01/20/25 vs Fairfax Christian	7

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Bishop O'Connell to victory, but perhaps none more so than Shane Lincoln, who dropped a double-double with 18 points and ten boards. Those ten rebounds gave Lincoln a new career-high. Darius Bivins was another key player, putting up 13 points along with eight boards and six assists.

Meanwhile, everything came up roses for St. John's against Our Lady of Good Counsel on Tuesday as the squad secured a 78-50 victory. The Cadets have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 matchups by 20 points or more this season.

St. John's is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-9 record this season. As for Bishop O'Connell, their win bumped their record up to 21-8.

Bishop O'Connell didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against St. John's when the teams last played back in January, but they still walked away with a 62-57 victory. Will Bishop O'Connell repeat their success, or does St. John's have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.