Basketball Game Preview: Academy for Classical Education Gryphons vs. Southwest Patriots

Academy for Classical Education is 0-6 against Southwest since January of 2023 but things could change on Friday. The Academy for Classical Education Gryphons will head out to face off against the Southwest Patriots at 7:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Academy for Classical Education is headed into Friday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fifth straight game on Saturday. They fell 63-56 to Jackson.

Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Southwest beat Central 65-60 on Tuesday. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 59th, while the Chargers are ranked 379th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Southwest's win came from a few key players Academy for Classical Education will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Brandon Ashley, who went 7 for 12 on his way to 20 points. He has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Chase Dupree, who went 6 of 13 en route to 17 points.

Southwest's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-2. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.4 points per game. As for Academy for Classical Education, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-11.

Academy for Classical Education lost to Southwest on the road by a decisive 71-55 margin when the teams last played on January 14th. Can Academy for Classical Education avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.