South Wake had won three straight at home, but on Thursday they bumped up to 19-7 to make it four. They snuck past the Freedom Christian Academy Patriots with an 86-81 victory. The score was all tied up 44-44 at the break, but the Sabres were the better team in the second half.
JJ Gugelman was the offensive standout of the contest as he shot 58% from the field on his way to 18 points. He is on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last three games he's played. Zach Brueggeman was another key player, putting up eight points along with ten rebounds and three blocks.

Sabres
| 02/05/26 vs Freedom Christian Academy | 86-81 |
| 01/30/26 @ New Life Camp | 66-50 |
| 01/29/26 vs Durham Flight HomeSchool | 87-50 |
South Wake smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 16 consecutive matchups.
As for Freedom Christian Academy, they have been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 15-15 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 85.8 points over those games.
Despite the loss, Freedom Christian Academy had strong showings from Karsten Swinney, who posted 34 points in addition to six boards and five assists, and Bryce West, who had 30 points and six rebounds. That was a full 37% of the Patriots' points, marking the third time in a row West has scored more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Malachi Caldwell, who earned 13 points and six boards.
South Wake has already played their next contest (against North Raleigh Christian Academy), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. As for Freedom Christian Academy, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, an 82-36 win against Village Christian Academy on the 6th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps