Basketball Game Preview: Harding Academy Lions vs. Millington Central Trojans

The Harding Academy Lions will take on the Millington Central Trojans in a holiday battle at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

On Tuesday, Harding Academy came up short against Memphis Central and fell 65-58. While losing is never fun, the Lions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 83rd, while the Warriors are ranked 16th).

Meanwhile, Millington Central also suffered a loss in their last game, falling to White Station by a score of 57-49.

Harding Academy will need to focus on slowing down Andre Tyler, one of several Millington Central players who made an impact when they last played. He posted 15 points. Tyler's big performance that evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Javohn Jackson, who put up ten points.

Millington Central has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.8 points over those games. As for Harding Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 6-2.

Harding Academy took their win against Millington Central in their previous matchup back in November by a conclusive 69-48 score. Will the Lions repeat their success, or do the Trojans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.