The Metrolina Christian Academy Warriors and the Grace Academy Lions will round out the year against one another at at 1:00 p.m. on Monday. Metrolina Christian Academy is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.3 points per game this season.
Metrolina Christian Academy is likely headed into the match with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against South Point on Saturday. Metrolina Christian Academy fell just short of South Point by a score of 41-38. The Warriors' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Tyler Gadd
| 12/27/24 vs East Gaston | 1 |
| 12/30/23 vs Academic Magnet | 1 |
| 12/28/24 @ South Point | 2 |
Despite the loss, Metrolina Christian Academy had strong showings from Tyler Gadd, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Malachi Wilson, who posted ten points in addition to five boards and three steals. The dominant performance also gave Gadd a new career-high in blocks (two).
Even though they lost, Metrolina Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Grace Academy had already won nine in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.3 points) and they went ahead and made it ten on Saturday. They enjoyed a cozy 87-69 win over the Hawks.
Grace Academy's win came from a few key players Metrolina Christian Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Evan Buslovich, who almost dropped a double-double on 23 points and nine boards. The game was his third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Carson Payne, who put up 26 points.
Metrolina Christian Academy now has a losing record at 6-7. As for Grace Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 10-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Metrolina Christian Academy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Grace Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Metrolina Christian Academy strolled past Grace Academy in their previous meeting back in January of 2017 by a score of 90-75. The rematch might be a little tougher for Metrolina Christian Academy since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
