Preview: Unity Christian Academy Phoenix vs. Grace Christian Academy Crusaders
Two dominant players in Shamar Coleman and Sam Marquardt are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Unity Christian Academy Phoenix will be playing in front of their home fans against the Grace Christian Academy Crusaders at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Unity Christian Academy has four straight victories, Grace Christian Academy has seven straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
In what's become a running theme this season, Unity Christian Academy gave their fans yet another huge win on Thursday. They put the hurt on Mooseheart with a sharp 70-50 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Unity Christian Academy has posted yet this season.
Unity Christian Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Donovan O'Neil led the charge by dropping a double-double on 15 points and 11 assists. O'Neil hasn't dropped below two steals for four straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Coleman, who scored 25 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Grace Christian Academy came up short against Clifton Central on Tuesday and fell 61-51.
Despite their defeat, Grace Christian Academy saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Ethan Reynolds, who scored 18 points along with five steals, was perhaps the best of all. Reynolds hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Marquardt, who scored nine points along with eight rebounds and six assists.
Unity Christian Academy has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a massive bump to their 6-6 record this season. As for Grace Christian Academy, their defeat was their third straight at home, which bumped their record down to 2-12.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Unity Christian Academy hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 57.6 points per game. However, it's not like Grace Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 51 points per game. The only thing between Unity Christian Academy and another offensive beatdown is Grace Christian Academy. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Everything went Unity Christian Academy's way against Grace Christian Academy when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as Unity Christian Academy made off with a 59-37 victory. With Unity Christian Academy ahead 43-19 at the half, the game was all but over already.
