The Ascent Classical Academy Northern Colorado Archers will take on the STEAD STINGERS at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Last Thursday, Ascent Classical Academy Northern Colorado ended up a good deal behind Loveland Protestant Reformed Christian and lost 50-31. The Archers were down 46-15 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
The losing side was boosted by Asher French, who went 5 of 8 en route to 11 points. Another player making a difference was Carter MacAlmon, who posted six points.
Meanwhile, STEAD didn't have quite enough to beat St. John Paul the Great on Wednesday and fell 54-52.
Ascent Classical Academy Northern Colorado will have to contain Angel Rodrigez as he made an impact in STEAD's last game. He dropped a double-double on 35 points and 14 boards. Rodrigez has become a key player for STEAD: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least 25 points, but 0-4 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Kj Collins, who earned six points.
STEAD has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-5 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points per game. As for Ascent Classical Academy Northern Colorado, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Ascent Classical Academy Northern Colorado has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like STEAD struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Ascent Classical Academy Northern Colorado didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against STEAD in their previous meeting two weeks ago, but they still walked away with a 51-45 victory. Does Ascent Classical Academy Northern Colorado have another victory up their sleeve, or will STEAD turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
