The Hickory Grove Christian Lions will head out on the road to face off against SouthLake Christian Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hickory Grove Christian will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 315th, while SouthLake Christian Academy is ranked 134th).
Hickory Grove Christian pushed their score all the way to 55 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a serious blow against Gaston Day, falling 89-55. Hickory Grove Christian has struggled against Gaston Day recently, as their contest on Tuesday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
Hickory Grove Christian's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Brent Banks, who scored 21 points along with 6 rebounds, and Kevin Powell who scored 11 points along with 9 rebounds. The game was Banks' fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Micah Bradley, who scored 4 points.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, SouthLake Christian Academy's good fortune finally ran out last Thursday. They fell 65-53 to Concord Academy.
Hickory Grove Christian has not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season. As for SouthLake Christian Academy, their defeat was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 7-3.
Hickory Grove Christian was able to grind out a solid win over SouthLake Christian Academy in their previous meeting back in January, winning 55-46. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hickory Grove Christian since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
