After both having extra time off, the Grace Christian Patriots and the Real Life Christian Academy Raptors will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Real Life Christian Academy is hoping to do what Ruskin Christian couldn't back in December of 2024: put an end to Grace Christian's winning streak, which now stands at nine games. Grace Christian was the clear victor by a 77-54 margin over Ruskin Christian. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 159th, while the Warriors are ranked 405th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Grace Christian's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Mark Dudley, who posted 25 points. Another player making a difference was Will Hawes, who earned 19 points.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Real Life Christian Academy). They blew past Innovation Montessori 73-12 back in December of 2024. The victory was nothing new for the Raptors as they're now sitting on four straight.
Real Life Christian Academy's win came from a few key players Grace Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Manny Almonte, who put up nine points along with five assists and four steals. Those five assists gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Chris LaSalle, who went 5 of 7 en route to 14 points.
Real Life Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.
Grace Christian pushed their record up to 9-0 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Real Life Christian Academy, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Grace Christian against Real Life Christian Academy in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, as the squad secured a 67-32 victory. In that contest, Grace Christian amassed a halftime lead of 42-12, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.
