Basketball Game Preview: Payne Tech Lions vs. North Star Academy

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Previous 5 Games

02/10/24 - Neutral	65-55 W
01/04/24 - Home	65-46 W
01/31/23 - Home	56-51 W
01/03/23 - Away	63-57 W
01/18/20 - Neutral	58-42 W

Payne Tech is 5-0 against North Star Academy since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Payne Tech Lions will finish 2024 at home by hosting North Star Academy at 11:30 a.m.

Payne Tech is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Jersey's top teams: Linden, who was ranked fourth at the time (Payne Tech was ranked 13th). Payne Tech lost to Linden at home by a 55-39 margin on Sunday. The game marked the Lions' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask North Star Academy). They blew past North Plainfield 78-58 on Monday. The win made it back-to-back victories for North Star Academy.

North Star Academy's win came from a few key players Payne Tech will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Johnny Mayers Ii, who went 6 for 12 on his way to 17 points and four steals. His evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tajee Carter, who went 9 of 17 on his way to 20 points.

Payne Tech now has a losing record at 2-3. As for North Star Academy, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.

Payne Tech was able to grind out a solid win over North Star Academy in their previous meeting back in February, winning 65-55. Does Payne Tech have another victory up their sleeve, or will North Star Academy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.