Basketball Game Preview: Temple Christian Crusaders vs. Ridgeview Christian Crusaders

Temple Christian and Ridgeview Christian are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2018, but not for long. The Temple Christian Crusaders will host the Ridgeview Christian Crusaders at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday. Ridgeview Christian took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Temple Christian, who comes in off a win.

While Temple Christian didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-10), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They walked away with a 60-53 victory over Grace Christian last Friday.

Temple Christian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tyler Cash led the charge by going 6 of 9 on his way to 19 points and five rebounds. That's the most points Cash has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Silas Walker, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine boards.

Meanwhile, Ridgeview Christian played a tough game on Monday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They had to suffer through a 84-44 loss at the hands of Appalachian Christian School. While losing is never fun, the Crusaders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 385th, while the Trailblazers are ranked 152nd).

Temple Christian is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.3 points per game. As for Ridgeview Christian, their defeat was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 2-7.

Temple Christian came up short against Ridgeview Christian in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 58-47. Will Temple Christian have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.