Basketball Game Preview: St. Teresa's Catholic Crusaders vs. First Academy Lions

The St. Teresa's Catholic Crusaders will take on the First Academy Lions at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (St. Teresa's Catholic has three straight victories, First Academy has ten straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

St. Teresa's Catholic will head into Friday's matchup hoping to keep the good times rolling: they had to skate by with only a three-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 21-point drubbing they dealt Colquitt Christian Academy on Friday. St. Teresa's Catholic was the clear victor by a 61-40 margin over Colquitt Christian Academy. With that win, the Crusaders brought their scoring average up to 50.4 points per game.

St. Teresa's Catholic got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Dyland Rangel out in front who posted 19 points. The contest was Rangel's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Michael Richard was another key player, putting up 16 points.

Meanwhile, First Academy came up short against Appling Christian Academy on Thursday and fell 54-45.

St. Teresa's Catholic will have to keep a close watch on Logan James and Logan Steele, a pair of players who had a big impact on First Academy's prior game. James dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Steele almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds.

Even though they lost, First Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 48 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.

St. Teresa's Catholic now has a winning record of 3-2. As for First Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-9.

St. Teresa's Catholic came up short against First Academy in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 55-51. Can St. Teresa's Catholic avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.