Basketball Game Preview: Merritt Island Christian Cougars vs. St. Edward's Pirates

The Merritt Island Christian Cougars will face off against the St. Edward's Pirates on Thursday.

Merritt Island Christian is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering St. Cloud just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Saturday. They fell 63-51 to the Bulldogs. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 336th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 121st).

Despite the defeat, Merritt Island Christian got top-tier performance from Summer Snaith, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds. Snaith is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last ten games she's played. Julia Rhodes was another key player, going 5 for 8 en route to 13 points.

Meanwhile, St. Edward's had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.6 points) and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Patriots 44-14. The Pirates have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 22 points or more this season.

St. Edward's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 24.2 points per game. As for Merritt Island Christian, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 11-11.

Merritt Island Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over St. Edward's in their previous meeting back in January, winning 52-39. Will Merritt Island Christian repeat their success, or does St. Edward's have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.