Preview: Union Academy Cardinals vs. Central Academy Cougars
Union Academy is 9-1 against Central Academy since January of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Union Academy Cardinals will be staying on the road to face off against the Central Academy Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on December 5th. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Union Academy struggled with assists on Wednesday (Mountain Island Charter had 1000% more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Union Academy suffered a rough 83-57 defeat at the hands of Mountain Island Charter. While losing is never fun, Union Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 400th, while Mountain Island Charter is ranked 61st).
Despite the loss, Union Academy had strong showings from Heath Lunsford, who scored 8 points along with 15 rebounds and 4 steals, and Joey Shearin, who scored 12 points along with 7 rebounds. Miles McGinnis was another key contributor, scoring 5 points along with 5 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Central Academy came up short against Montgomery Central on Friday and fell 64-55. Central Academy has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Zach Mcdowell, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 15 rebounds. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Michael Hoff, who scored 23 points.
Porter Ridge's win bumped their season record to 0-0 while Union Academy's defeat dropped theirs to 0-3.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's contest: Union Academy have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 5 threes per game. It's a different story for Central Academy, though, as they've been averaging only 2.2 per game. Given Union Academy's sizeable advantage in that area, Central Academy will need to find a way to close that gap. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
Union Academy lost to Central Academy on the road by a decisive 66-52 margin when the teams last played back in November of 2022. Thankfully for Union Academy, Jake Shearin (who scored 32 points along with 8 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
