Southside Christian hasn't had much luck against Hilltop Christian recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Southside Christian Warriors will take on the Hilltop Christian Chargers in a holiday battle at at 6:45 p.m.
Southside Christian saw some tournament action two weeks ago. They lost 42-19 to Gramercy Christian.
The losing side was boosted by Zach Pope, who posted seven points and eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Hilltop Christian strolled past Fellowship Baptist Academy with points to spare on Thursday, taking the game 49-34. Given the Chargers' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 95th, while the Eagles are ranked 213th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hilltop Christian's win came from a few key players Southside Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Caleb Manriquez, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 14 points and eight rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Barbour, who put up nine points and six steals.
Hilltop Christian's win was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-3. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.5 points per game. As for Southside Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Southside Christian has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Hilltop Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Southside Christian was dealt a bruising 73-40 loss at the hands of Hilltop Christian in their previous meeting back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Manriquez, who went 7 of 9 from beyond the arc on his way to 42 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Now that Southside Christian knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
