Two dominant guards in AJ Curerton and Carson Payne are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Walnut Grove Christian Christian Warriors will venture away from home to challenge the Grace Academy Lions at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Walnut Grove Christian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 66.2 points per game this season.
Walnut Grove Christian will head out to face Grace Academy after giving up their first home loss of the season on Tuesday. Walnut Grove Christian fell 74-64 to Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy.
| 01/21/25 vs Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy | 27 |
| 01/16/25 vs NorthPoint Christian Academy | 27 |
| 01/13/25 @ Lee Park Prep | 25 |
| 01/09/25 @ Carolina Christian | 26 |
| 12/17/24 @ Riverwalk Academy | 25 |
Despite their defeat, Walnut Grove Christian saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Curerton, who posted 27 points, was perhaps the best of all. The game was Curerton's 16th in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jack Bonagura, who earned 18 points.
Meanwhile, Grace Academy entered their contest against Greater Cabarrus S on Thursday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Grace Academy lost to Greater Cabarrus S at home by a 70-53 margin.
Despite the loss, Grace Academy saw an underclassman step up: freshman Evan Buslovich scored 17 points and four steals. Buslovich has been hot recently, having posted 17 or more points the last four times he's played. Tim Burris was another key player, putting up 11 points.
Walnut Grove Christian's defeat ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 10-6. As for Grace Academy, their loss ended a six-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 15-4.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Walnut Grove Christian hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 66.2 points per game. However, it's not like Grace Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 71.4 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Walnut Grove Christian didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Grace Academy when the teams last played back in December of 2015, but they still walked away with a 62-57 victory. Will Walnut Grove Christian repeat their success, or does Grace Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
