The Elevation Prep Academy Honey Badgers fought the good fight in their overtime game against the North Hills Christian Eagles on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Eagles by a score of 81-78. Despite running the score up even higher than they did last Saturday (71), Elevation Prep Academy still had to take the loss.
When it comes to explaining why Elevation Prep Academy lost, one person who can't be blamed is IZEIR MAYBEN. Despite the final result, he scored 23 points along with six steals and five assists. MAYBEN continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of JAYLEN THOMAS, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, Elevation Prep Academy were working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Hills Christian only racked up 11 assists.
North Hills Christian was led to victory by Jerrod Drye Jr. and Champion Hayden. Drye Jr. scored 22 points along with six assists and six rebounds, while Hayden dropped a double-double on 31 points and 18 rebounds. That makes it 14 consecutive games in which Hayden has scored at least 25% of North Hills Christian's points. Zachary Strickland was another key contributor, scoring 13 points.
Elevation Prep Academy has not been sharp recently, as they've lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-7 record this season. As for North Hills Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 9-5.
Elevation Prep Academy will finish 2023 at home by hosting McBee at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. McBee is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 52.2 points per game. North Hills Christian will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against Charlotte Elite Academy at 4:00 p.m. on December 29th. Charlotte Elite Academy has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 585 points over their last eight contests.
