Basketball Game Preview: Roanoke Catholic Celtics vs. Fairfax Christian Cardinals

The Roanoke Catholic Celtics will face off against the Fairfax Christian Cardinals at 1:45 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Roanoke Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They claimed a resounding 68-41 victory over Portsmouth Christian.

Meanwhile, Fairfax Christian had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They took their match with ease, bagging a 102-55 win over the Fighting Owls. With the Cardinals ahead 59-23 at the half, the game was all but over already.

Fairfax Christian's win came from a few key players Roanoke Catholic will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Dominic Mason, who almost dropped a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds. Those 20 points gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jonathan Jennings, who went 5-for-7 en route to 11 points in addition to six boards and five assists.

Fairfax Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in 30 consecutive contests.

Fairfax Christian's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-12. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 25.3 points. As for Roanoke Catholic, their record is now 20-11.

Roanoke Catholic was taken down by Fairfax Christian 92-60 when the teams last played back in March of 2022. Can Roanoke Catholic avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.