King's Academy and Priory are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The pair will face off at 6:30 p.m. on January 16th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. King's Academy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
In what's become a running theme this season, King's Academy gave their fans yet another huge win on Wednesday. They blew past San Lorenzo 79-48 at home. Given King's Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 192nd, while San Lorenzo is ranked 833rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
King's Academy got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Caedmon Dickson out in front who scored 16 points. Another player making a difference was Bryce Sherman, who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Priory beat Pinewood 61-54 on Tuesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Priory.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Priory to victory, but perhaps none more so than Michael Hildebrandt, who scored 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Teddy Xanthopoulos, who scored 13 points.
King's Academy has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. As for Priory, their victory bumped their record up to 7-8.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's game: King's Academy have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 46.1% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Priory struggles in that department as they've only drained 31.4% of their threes per game this season. Given King's Academy's sizeable advantage in that area, Priory will need to find a way to close that gap.
King's Academy was able to grind out a solid win over Priory when the teams last played back in February of 2023, winning 61-54. Will King's Academy repeat their success, or does Priory have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
