Basketball Game Preview: Ascend Leadership Aviators vs. American Leadership Academy-Johnston Patriots

The Ascend Leadership Aviators and the American Leadership Academy-Johnston Patriots will compete for holiday cheer at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Ascend Leadership is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Clover Garden School on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Ascend Leadership was beaten by Clover Garden School 68-37. The defeat continues a trend for the Aviators in their matchups with the Grizzlies: they've now lost three in a row.

Meanwhile, American Leadership Academy-Johnston won against East Wake Academy on Monday with 52 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Tuesday. American Leadership Academy-Johnston took down Fletcher Academy 52-37. The matchup marked the Patriots' most dominant victory of the season so far.

The win made it two in a row for American Leadership Academy-Johnston and bumps their season record up to 3-6. As for Ascend Leadership, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.

Ascend Leadership was dealt a bruising 51-21 defeat at the hands of American Leadership Academy-Johnston when the teams last played back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of American Leadership Academy-Johnston's Ben Allen, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 16 rebounds. Now that Ascend Leadership knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.