Fideles Christian and Lanier Christian Academy are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2022, but not for long. The Fideles Christian Rangers will host the Lanier Christian Academy Lightning at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Lanier Christian Academy is hoping to do what Scholars Guild Academy couldn't on Tuesday: put an end to Fideles Christian's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Fideles Christian blew past Scholars Guild Academy 64-38. With the Rangers ahead 43-15 at the half, the game was all but over already.
| 01/14/25 vs Scholars Guild Academy | 19 |
| 01/09/25 @ Georgia Force Christian | 18 |
| 01/07/25 @ Killian Hill Christian | 24 |
Fideles Christian's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Xander Lipinski, who went 7 of 12 on his way to 19 points and six rebounds. Lipinski's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Hudson Blackstock, who went 7 of 8 on his way to 16 points.
Fideles Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Lanier Christian Academy on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Peachtree Academy out of the water with a 92-36 final score. The Lightning have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matches by 25 points or more this season.
Lanier Christian Academy's win came from a few key players Fideles Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gavin Sewell-Strabala, who went 6 of 10 on his way to 16 points and five steals. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Miles Tracy, who went 5 of 7 on his way to 12 points in addition to six boards and three steals.
Fideles Christian's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 6-12. As for Lanier Christian Academy, they pushed their record up to 13-3 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Fideles Christian has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Lanier Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Fideles Christian came up short against Lanier Christian Academy when the teams last played back in December of 2024, falling 73-64. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lanier Christian Academy's Mekhi Barber, who posted 20 points along with eight rebounds and seven steals. Now that Fideles Christian knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
