Basketball Game Preview: Friendship Christian Falcons vs. Thales Academy Rolesville Knights

Friendship Christian is 2-8 against Thales Academy Rolesville since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Friendship Christian Falcons will welcome the Thales Academy Rolesville Knights at 6:45 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Back in December of 2024, Friendship Christian was fully in charge, breezing past Neuse Christian Academy 57-27. The Falcons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matches by 30 points or more this season.

Patrick Keller was a one-man wrecking crew for Friendship Christian as he went 7 of 14 on his way to 20 points and six rebounds. The dominant performance gave Keller a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Josh Woodard, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 12 points and seven rebounds.

Friendship Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Neuse Christian Academy only pulled down three offensive rebounds.

Meanwhile, Thales Academy Rolesville had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They walked away with a 62-54 win over the Vikings. That's two games straight that the Knights have won by exactly eight points.

Thales Academy Rolesville's win came from a few key players Friendship Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Tony Lopez, who went 6 of 10 on his way to 16 points in addition to five assists and four steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Hunter Steffen, who posted four points along with 12 boards and four steals.

Thales Academy Rolesville's victory bumped their record up to 5-10. As for Friendship Christian, their win bumped their record up to 7-2.

Friendship Christian didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Thales Academy Rolesville when the teams last played back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 53-49 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Thales Academy Rolesville's Malcolm Foster, who went 9 of 18 on his way to 24 points and five rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Tuesday, will it be easier for Friendship Christian to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.