The St. Francis Prep Terriers and the Academy of the New Church Lions will round out the year against one another at at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday. St. Francis Prep knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past seven contests -- so hopefully Academy of the New Church likes a good challenge.
St. Francis Prep took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They snuck past Pembroke Pines Charter with a 66-62 win. Given the Terriers' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 15th in New York, while the Jaguars are ranked 61st in Florida), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Academy of the New Church entered their match against Cristo Rey Philadelphia on Wednesday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Academy of the New Church fell to Cristo Rey Philadelphia 67-63.
St. Francis Prep will need focus on slowing down Marquis Newson, one of several Academy of the New Church players who made an impact when they last played. He went 6 for 13 on his way to 16 points and seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Warren, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 14 points and seven rebounds.
Even though they lost, Academy of the New Church smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in five consecutive games.
St. Francis Prep's victory was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-1. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.4 points per game. As for Academy of the New Church, their loss ended a 17-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 4-4.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
