Onteora has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Mount Academy Eagles at 5:45 p.m. on Monday. Onteora will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps New York Rankings (they are ranked 628th, while Mount Academy is ranked 313th).
Last Friday, Onteora made easy work of Pine Plains and carried off a 56-31 victory.
Meanwhile, Mount Academy pushed their score all the way to 63 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. Their tough 86-63 defeat to Ellenville might stick with them for a while. It was the first time this season that Mount Academy let down their fans at home.
Despite the defeat, Mount Academy had strong showings from Jake Maendel, who scored 25 points along with eight rebounds and two steals, and Dennis Hofer, who scored 18 points along with three steals. Maendel hasn't dropped below two steals for six straight games. Kai Meier was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with five rebounds.
Onteora's victory bumped their record up to 5-10. As for Mount Academy, their loss ended a six-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-3.
Everything went Onteora's way against Mount Academy in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 as Onteora made off with a 52-31 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Onteora since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
