Two dominant guards in DJ Howard and Brody Church are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Lakeland Christian Vikings will host the Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Lakeland Christian is coming into the match on the come-up as their season has now been buoyed by two straight wins. They blew past Tenoroc 66-45 on Friday.
Howard was his usual excellent self, going 12 for 15 en route to 31 points and three steals. Levi Howell was another key player, putting up eight points and ten boards.
Lakeland Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Meanwhile, Clearwater Central Catholic came tearing into Tuesday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 33.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Lancers as they made off with a 58-35 victory. The Marauders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 22 points or more this season.
Lakeland Christian has also been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a massive bump to their 5-14 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.3 points per game. As for Clearwater Central Catholic, they pushed their record up to 14-6 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home.
Lakeland Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over Clearwater Central Catholic in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, winning 60-51. Does Lakeland Christian have another victory up their sleeve, or will Clearwater Central Catholic turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
