GRACE Christian suffered their closest defeat since December 22, 2023 on Friday. They fell just short of the Northwood Temple Academy Eagles by a score of 72-69. While losing is never fun, GRACE Christian can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 139th, while Northwood Temple Academy is ranked 26th).
GRACE Christian's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Michael Phillips II, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 13 rebounds. Phillips II's evening made it 12 games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Malachi Tate, who went 8 for 9 en route to 18 points plus six rebounds.
It was another big night for Kenny Vera, who went 6 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 31 points plus five rebounds for Northwood Temple Academy. The dominant performance gave Vera a new career-high in threes. Winston Waite was another key player, scoring 14 points in addition to two steals.
This is the second loss in a row for GRACE Christian and nudges their season record down to 2-6. As for Northwood Temple Academy, the victory for them keeps them at an undefeated 7-0.
GRACE Christian has already played their next game, a 71-68 defeat against Knightdale on the 30th. As for Northwood Temple Academy, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 67-62 loss against Greenfield on the 30th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
