The Downey Christian Patriots will head out on the road to face off against the Pathways Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Downey Christian has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 752 points over their last ten games.
Downey Christian scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Wednesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Nazaret Christian Academy 96-62 at home. Given Downey Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 165th, while the Lions are ranked 504th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Downey Christian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Mickael Heritiana led the charge by scoring 20 points. Patrick Olajuwon was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Pathways had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.9 points), and they went ahead and made it eight on Friday. They came out on top against Altamonte Christian by a score of 90-82. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Downey Christian pushed their record up to 17-7 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 86.7 points per game. As for Pathways, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 14 of their last 16 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season.
Downey Christian was able to grind out a solid win over the Eagles when the teams last played back in November of 2023, winning 63-55. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Pathways' Carlos Escalera, who scored 24 points along with two steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Downey Christian still be able to contain Escalera? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
