The Crooms Academy Panthers will face off against the Holy Cross Lutheran Academy Crusaders at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Crooms Academy knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine games -- so hopefully Holy Cross Lutheran Academy likes a good challenge.
Crooms Academy is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Orlando Science: they outscored them in every quarter. Everything went Crooms Academy's way against Orlando Science on Wednesday as Crooms Academy made off with a 67-46 win. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 21 points or more this season.
| 01/22/25 vs Orlando Science | 25 |
| 01/21/25 vs Oasis Christian | 20 |
| 01/16/25 vs Orangewood Christian | 20 |
| 01/14/25 vs Lyman | 26 |
Crooms Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kenai Anderson led the charge by dropping a double-double on 25 points and 12 rebounds. Anderson's evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Micah Parker, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 boards.
Crooms Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 22 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Holy Cross Lutheran Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on January 9th as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They were outmatched by Altamonte Christian and fell 70-40. While losing is never fun, the Crusaders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 683rd, while the Eagles are ranked 305th).
Crooms Academy will have to keep a close watch on Christian King and Keesan Beyah-Bridges, a pair of players who had a big impact on Holy Cross Lutheran Academy's prior game. King went 6 for 13 en route to 15 points, while Beyah-Bridges posted 13 points. Beyah-Bridges is also crushing it when it comes to steals: he's grabbed at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Quincy Lee was another key player, putting up four points and eight rebounds.
Crooms Academy is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.9 points per game. As for Holy Cross Lutheran Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Crooms Academy has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 37.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Holy Cross Lutheran Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
