The Eastern Shore HomeSchool Mavericks will head out to take on the Calvary Christian Academy LIONS at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
If Calvary Christian Academy heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Eastern Shore HomeSchool took over last week. Eastern Shore HomeSchool snuck past Fredericksburg V with a 56-52 win on Saturday. Given the Mavericks' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 38th in Delaware, while the Victory are ranked 327th in Virginia), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Eastern Shore HomeSchool's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Zach Miller, who went 8 of 13 to rack up 20 points and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Miller, who posted 18 points and seven assists.
Meanwhile, Calvary Christian Academy had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.8 points) and they went ahead and made it six on Saturday. They came within four points of losing the streak, but they secured a 56-52 W against the Wolves.
Calvary Christian Academy's win came from a few key players Eastern Shore HomeSchool will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Sean Sensenig (HS), who went 7 for 16 on his way to 20 points and three steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last five games he's played. Paul Hensley (HS) was another key player, going 6 of 13 en route to 14 points in addition to seven boards and three steals.
Calvary Christian Academy 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 six consecutive games.
Eastern Shore HomeSchool has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.5 points over those games. As for Calvary Christian Academy, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Eastern Shore HomeSchool has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Calvary Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Eastern Shore HomeSchool strolled past Calvary Christian Academy in their previous matchup back in January by a score of 66-48. The rematch might be a little tougher for Eastern Shore HomeSchool since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
