Basketball Recap: Christ Covenant Comes Up Short

Christ Covenant lost against Hilltop Christian back in December of 2021 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Christ Covenant Spartans were dealt a 69-31 loss at the hands of the Hilltop Christian Chargers. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 513th, while the Chargers are ranked 161st).

Several Spartans players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Noah Stein, who posted 17 points. Stein's evening made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Karson Bagnal was another key player, putting up four points and five boards.

Hilltop Christian had a senior duo take command as Caleb Manriquez went 8 of 12 en route to 22 points and eight rebounds and Carter Snow went 8 for 14 on his way to 16 points in addition to seven assists and six boards. That's the most rebounds Snow has posted since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Philip Joyner, who scored eight points and five boards.

Christ Covenant has traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-11 record this season. As for Hilltop Christian, they pushed their record up to 19-3 with the win, which was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season.

Christ Covenant will welcome New Bern Christian Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Christ Covenant is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.9 points per game this season. As for Hilltop Christian, they will head out on the road to square off against Liberty Christian at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Liberty Christian knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine games -- so hopefully Hilltop Christian likes a good challenge.