Pusch Ridge Christian Academy and Palo Verde are an even 3-3 against one another since January of 2022, but not for long. The Pusch Ridge Christian Academy Lions will face off against the Palo Verde Titans at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Pusch Ridge Christian Academy is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last ten games.
Pusch Ridge Christian Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They had just enough and edged out Florence 55-53. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Lions have posted since January 23, 2024.
Isaac Hardeman
| 02/28/25 @ Florence | 67% |
| 02/22/25 @ Page | 50% |
| 02/18/25 @ Parker | 50% |
| 02/14/25 vs Seton Catholic | 45% |
| 02/06/25 vs Empire | 50% |
| + 12 more games |
Noah McKinney and Isaac Hardeman were among the main playmakers for Pusch Ridge Christian Academy as the former shot 53% from the field on his way to 21 points and five boards and the latter went 6-for-9 en route to 14 points along with five assists and five rebounds. What's more, Hardeman also posted a 67% shooting accuracy, which is the highest he's achieved since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Ben Lambe, who posted six points in addition to eight rebounds and three blocks.
Pusch Ridge Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. They are 9-1 when they hit their own glass that hard.
Benjamin Franklin typically has all the answers at home, but on Friday Palo Verde proved too difficult a challenge. They managed a 52-48 win over the Chargers. The victory was nothing new for the Titans as they're now sitting on three straight.
Palo Verde's win came from a few key players Pusch Ridge Christian Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Daniel Ortiz, who dropped a double-double with 15 points and 16 boards. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 8.1 rebounds per game. Kameron Pippen was another key player, going 6-for-10 to rack up 16 points.
Pusch Ridge Christian Academy's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-11. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.3 points over those games. As for Palo Verde, their record is now 24-5.
Saturday's contest will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: McKinney and Ortiz. McKinney has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 15.6 points, 1.5 steals, and 4.9 boards. For his part, Ortiz has averaged 18.6 points, 3 steals, and 8.1 rebounds.
Pusch Ridge Christian Academy couldn't quite finish off Palo Verde in their previous meeting back in January and fell 51-48. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ortiz, who earned 22 points along with eight boards and five assists. Now that Pusch Ridge Christian Academy knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
