Having just played yesterday, the Morningside Academy Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
On Friday, Morningside Academy was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 44-43 to Merritt Island Christian.
Meanwhile, Melbourne Central Catholic came up short against Edgewood on Wednesday and fell 55-47.
Morningside Academy will have to keep a close watch on Tristan Hamilton and Dyllan Drygas, a pair of players who had a big impact on Melbourne Central Catholic's prior game. Hamilton went 7 for 14 en route to 19 points along with seven rebounds and three steals, while Drygas dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 boards. Those 11 boards gave Drygas a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Grady Bonenberger, who posted four points.
Even though they lost, Melbourne Central Catholic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in six consecutive matchups.
Morningside Academy's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-9. As for Melbourne Central Catholic, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 12-3.
Morningside Academy didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Melbourne Central Catholic when the teams last played back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 47-42 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Melbourne Central Catholic's Hayden Deane, who went 6 of 10 from beyond the arc on his way to 23 points and five rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Saturday, will it be easier for Morningside Academy to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
