The Calhoun Academy Cavaliers will head out on the road to take on the St. John's Christian Academy Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in South Carolina (Calhoun Academy is ranked 204th, while St. John's Christian Academy is ranked 209th).
Calhoun Academy's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight defeat. They took a 50-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of Curtis Baptist.
Despite their loss, Calhoun Academy saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Connor Hayes, who scored 16 points, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Chase Strickland, who scored six points along with ten rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, St. John's Christian Academy fought the good fight in their overtime game against Cathedral Academy on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Generals by a score of 73-71. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Despite the defeat, St. John's Christian Academy got a solid performance out of Brock Ray, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 15 rebounds. Ray has been hot recently, having posted 19 or more points the last four times he's played. Tradd Law was another key contributor, scoring 16 points.
Calhoun Academy has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 13-11 record this season. St. John's Christian Academy's record now sits at 8-15.
Keep an eye on the arc in Monday's game: Calhoun Academy have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 38.3% of their threes per game. It's a different story for St. John's Christian Academy, though, as they've only made 24.7% of their threes this season. Given Calhoun Academy's sizable advantage in that area, St. John's Christian Academy will need to find a way to close that gap.
Calhoun Academy strolled past St. John's Christian Academy when the teams last played back in January by a score of 55-41. The rematch might be a little tougher for Calhoun Academy since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
