It was a good run, but the Expression Prep Academy Lions unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Saturday. They took a 90-78 hit to the loss column at the hands of Mountain Mission. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Expression Prep Academy came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 48th in West Virginia, while Mountain Mission is ranked 134th in Virginia).
Expression Prep Academy lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Jackson Childers, who dropped a double-double on 31 points and ten rebounds. Childers hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Rasheed Morrison, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Expression Prep Academy were working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mountain Mission only posted eight assists.
Imani Chacha was his usual excellent self, scoring 22 points along with nine rebounds and five assists for Mountain Mission. Chacha is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last three games he's played. Abel Mesfin was another key contributor, scoring 15 points along with three steals.
Expression Prep Academy's defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-6. As for Mountain Mission, they pushed their record up to 6-3 with that win, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Expression Prep Academy's road trip will continue as they head out to face Pikeville at 7:00 p.m. on January 26th. As for Mountain Mission, they will challenge Appalachian Christian HomeSchool at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
