After both having extra time off, the Real Life Christian Academy Raptors and the Grace Christian Patriots will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Real Life Christian Academy sitting on four straight victories and Grace Christian on nine.
Real Life Christian Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped back in December of 2024 as they easily beat Innovation Montessori 73-12. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
| 12/19/24 vs Innovation Montessori | 5 |
| 02/03/24 @ Landmark Christian | 3 |
| 11/19/24 @ South Lake | 3 |
| 01/16/24 vs Winter Haven Christian | 3 |
| 01/30/24 vs Apopka Christian Academy | 2 |
Real Life Christian Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Manny Almonte, who posted nine points in addition to five assists and four steals. The dominant performance gave Almonte a new career-high in assists. Another player making a difference was Chris LaSalle, who went 5 for 7 on his way to 14 points.
Real Life Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, everything went Grace Christian's way against Ruskin Christian back in December of 2024 as Grace Christian made off with a 77-54 victory. The Patriots have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 23 points or more this season.
Grace Christian's win came from a few key players Real Life Christian Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Mark Dudley, who put up 25 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Will Hawes, who posted 19 points.
Grace Christian's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-0. As for Real Life Christian Academy, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season.
Real Life Christian Academy was taken down by Grace Christian 67-32 when the teams last played back in January of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Dudley, who had 37 points. Now that Real Life Christian Academy knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
