Basketball Recap: New Life Christian Academy Falls to Hattiesburg Homeschool in First Game of Season

New Life Christian Academy unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage in their season opener. They had to suffer through an 84-50 loss at the hands of the Hattiesburg HomeSchool Forerunners. The loss continues a trend for the Eagles in their meetings with the Forerunners: they've now lost six in a row.

Hattiesburg HomeSchool got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Keller Russell out in front who shot 48% from the field to rack up 25 points and three steals. Russell's big performance that evening made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaydn Higdon, who went 6-for-8 on his way to 13 points and four steals.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. New Life Christian Academy will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Sylva Bay Academy at 7:30 p.m. on January 15, 2026. As for Hattiesburg HomeSchool, they will head out to face off against Lamar Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.