Preview: Nazareth Academy Roadrunners vs. Marist RedHawks
Nazareth Academy is 1-8 against Marist since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Nazareth Academy Roadrunners will head out on the road to square off against the Marist RedHawks at 7:00 p.m. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Nazareth Academy has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Marist will arrive with eight straight wins.
Nazareth Academy pushed their score all the way to 62 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 69-62 to St. Patrick. While losing is never fun, Nazareth Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 302nd, while St. Patrick is ranked 72nd).
Despite the defeat, Nazareth Academy had strong showings from Matthew Callahan, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and four steals, and Eddie Austin, who scored 12 points along with six rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Austin has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Talen Pearson, who scored five points along with six assists.
Even though they lost, Nazareth Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Marist didn't have too much trouble with Joliet Catholic on the road on Thursday as they won 62-43.
Nazareth Academy has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-16 record this season. As for Marist, their victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 24-4.
Nazareth Academy came up short against Marist in their previous matchup back in January, falling 54-45. Can Nazareth Academy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
