The Creighton Prep Junior Jays will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against the Pius X Thunderbolts at 4:30 p.m. on January 27th. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Thursday, Creighton Prep faced Bellevue West in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Creighton Prep took a 73-61 hit to the loss column at the hands of Bellevue West. Creighton Prep has struggled against Bellevue West recently, as their matchup on Thursday was their ninth consecutive lost matchup.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Dillon Claussen, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. Claussen is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Trinell Parker, who scored ten points.
Meanwhile, Pius X waltzed into their matchup on Tuesday with five straight wins but they left with six. They came out on top against Skutt Catholic by a score of 64-54.
Pius X's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kellan Humm led the charge by scoring 15 points. Humm has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last three times he's played. Michael Haith was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Creighton Prep's defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-3. As for Pius X, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season.
Saturday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Creighton Prep have been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 47.2% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Pius X struggles in that department as they've made 46.6% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Creighton Prep beat Pius X 45-33 when the teams last played back in December of 2022. The rematch might be a little tougher for Creighton Prep since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
