Needles is 8-2 against Awaken Christian since February of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Needles Mustangs will be playing at home against the Awaken Christian Lions at 6:30 p.m. Needles has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 1,082 points over their last 16 matches.
On Tuesday, Needles earned a 58-51 win over Parker. Given Needles' advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 19th in California, while Parker is ranked 158th in Arizona), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Needles to victory, but perhaps none more so than Xavier Russell, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds. Russell is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last five games he's played. Luca Walema was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, even though White Pine scored an imposing 55 points on Saturday, Awaken Christian still came out on top. Awaken Christian took their contest against White Pine 63-55.
Awaken Christian found their leader in underclassman Jaylen Jordan, who scored 27 points along with two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Abel Sebsebie, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Needles' victory was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 19-0. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.4 points per game. As for Awaken Christian, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Thursday's match: Needles have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 5.4 threes per game. It's a different story for Awaken Christian, though, as they've been averaging only 4.5 threes per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Needles took their victory against Awaken Christian when the teams last played back in December of 2023 by a conclusive 72-51. Will Needles repeat their success, or does Awaken Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
