Basketball Game Preview: Valor Preparatory Academy Owls vs. Jackson Day Mariners

The Valor Preparatory Academy Owls will head out on the road to square off against the Jackson Day Mariners at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

On Friday, Valor Preparatory Academy was beaten by Carolina International 91-47. While losing is never fun, the Owls can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 529th, while the Comets are ranked 109th).

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Jackson Day, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They secured a 73-69 W over Valor Preparatory Academy on Wednesday.

Jackson Day's win came from a few key players Valor Preparatory Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was DJ Clesca, who went 7-for-12 on his way to 16 points in addition to five boards and three steals. What's more, he also posted four assists, the most he's had since back in February of 2024. Makai McKnight was another key player, going 6-for-13 to rack up 20 points.

Jackson Day has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a massive bump to their 6-17 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.6 points over those games. As for Valor Preparatory Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-18.

Valor Preparatory Academy came up short against Jackson Day in their previous matchup on Wednesday, falling 73-69. Can Valor Preparatory Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.