The New Garden Friends Bears will square off against the Crossroads Christian Colts at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in New Garden Friends' favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last three matches.
New Garden Friends is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They blew past Southeastern Christian Academy 67-42.
Curtis Russell
| 02/15/25 vs Southeastern Christian Academy | 20 |
| 02/07/25 vs Crossroads Christian | 25 |
| 02/06/25 vs Lee Christian | 24 |
New Garden Friends got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Curtis Russell out in front who dropped a double-double with 20 points and ten boards. The contest was Russell's third in a row with at least 20 points. Kingston Clifton was another key player, putting up 16 points and six steals.
New Garden Friends was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Meanwhile, Crossroads Christian entered their tilt with Lawrence Academy on Saturday with two consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with three. They walked away with a 49-39 win over the Warriors. Given the Colts' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 197th, while the Warriors are ranked 449th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Crossroads Christian's win came from a few key players New Garden Friends will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Nik Brown, who posted seven points and eight rebounds. Another player making a difference was Chris Bell, who earned eight points and five boards.
New Garden Friends is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-12 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.5 points over those games. As for Crossroads Christian, their record now sits at 18-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: New Garden Friends has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Crossroads Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
New Garden Friends came up short against Crossroads Christian in their previous meeting last Friday, falling 68-58. Can New Garden Friends avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
