WISH Academy is 0-7 against Animo Venice since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The WISH Academy Owls will be playing in front of their home fans against the Animo Venice Pirates at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
WISH Academy waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with two straight wins but they left with three. They breezed by Simon Tech at home to the tune of 91-20. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 54-13.
WISH Academy can attribute much of their success to Dawit Kebede, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Kebede has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Enoch Tessema, who scored nine points along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Animo Venice posted their biggest victory yet this season on Thursday. They claimed a resounding 105-36 victory over Animo Watts at home. The win made it back-to-back wins for Animo Venice.
Animo Venice got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Rashad Johnson out in front who scored 30 points along with four steals. Judah Elliot Smith was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 30 points and 20 rebounds.
WISH Academy's victory bumped their record up to 10-5. As for Animo Venice, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-9 record this season.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: WISH Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 32.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Animo Venice struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 34 rebounds per game. Given WISH Academy's sizeable advantage in that area, Animo Venice will need to find a way to close that gap.
WISH Academy came up short against Animo Venice in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 58-48. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Smith, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 14 rebounds. Now that WISH Academy knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
