The Mater Academy Charter Lions will challenge the Norland Vikings at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Mater Academy Charter is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.9 points per game this season.
Mater Academy Charter will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Coral Gables, who they had gone 0-5 against in their five prior meetings. Mater Academy Charter snuck past Coral Gables with a 72-67 victory on Friday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Lions considering their 30-point performance the game before.
| 01/10/25 vs Coral Gables | 23 |
| 01/04/25 vs South Miami | 17 |
| 01/03/25 vs Hallandale | 11 |
| 12/28/24 vs Naples | 7 |
| 12/29/24 vs Port Charlotte | 3 |
Mater Academy Charter found their leader in sophomore Jahi Lopez, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 11 boards. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Lopez has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Ethan Davis, who went 5 for 7 on his way to 14 points and five assists.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Tuesday Norland sidestepped Miramar for a 44-42 win.
Norland's win came from a few key players Mater Academy Charter will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Oneal Norelus, who went 6 of 8 en route to 13 points and seven rebounds. Lorenzo Major was another key player, putting up six points along with five assists and five steals.
The victory got Mater Academy Charter back to even at 9-9. As for Norland, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-7 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Thursday's contest: Mater Academy Charter has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 43.3% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Norland, though, as they've only made 24.8% of their threes this season. Given Mater Academy Charter's sizable advantage in that area, Norland will need to find a way to close that gap.
Mater Academy Charter was able to grind out a solid win over Norland in their previous matchup back in December of 2019, winning 60-50. Does Mater Academy Charter have another victory up their sleeve, or will Norland turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
