Basketball Recap: Hope Academy Gets Big Victory over Higher-Ranked Hiawatha Collegiate

Hope Academy posted their closest win since December 27, 2023 on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Hiawatha Collegiate 63-60. The win was all the more spectacular given Hope Academy's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 300th, while Hiawatha Collegiate is ranked 141st).

Hope Academy is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.0 points over those games. As for Hiawatha Collegiate, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 6-8.

Hope Academy has already played their next matchup, a 72-15 victory against Lakes International Language Academy on the 7th. Hiawatha Collegiate will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Twin Cities Academy/Great River at 7:00 p.m. on February 27th.