Preview: Morning Star Academy Mustangs vs. Rivermont Collegiate Lions
Morning Star Academy has played every game this season on their home court, but they'll have to hit the road on Thursday. They will take on the Rivermont Collegiate Lions at 5:30 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Even though Morning Star Academy has not done well against Tri-State Christian recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Morning Star Academy came out on top against Tri-State Christian by a score of 55-43.
Morning Star Academy got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Josiah Curry out in front who scored 22 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Isaac Yowell, who scored 17 points along with 7 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Rivermont Collegiate humbled East Moline Christian with a 55-18 victory. The win was just what Rivermont Collegiate needed coming off of a 63-28 loss in their prior contest.
Tahir Kaplan was a one-man wrecking crew for Rivermont Collegiate as he dropped a double-double on 24 points and 18 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which Kaplan has scored at least 25% of Rivermont Collegiate's points. Another player making a difference was Eamon Matlock, who scored 12 points.
The losses dropped Morning Star Academy to 4-2 and Tri-State Christian to 0-2.
Thursday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Morning Star Academy have been dynamite from deep this season, having only nailed 32.8% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Rivermont Collegiate struggles in that department as they've made 38% of theirs this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
Morning Star Academy came up short against Rivermont Collegiate in their previous meeting back in January, falling 31-19. Can Morning Star Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
