Two dominant in Max McMillen and Luke Jones are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Faith Christian Academy Knights will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against Plaza Heights Christian Academy at 8:00 p.m. on January 19th. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 14 more assists than your opponent, a fact Faith Christian Academy proved two weeks ago. They enjoyed a cozy 62-44 win over Veritas Christian. Given Faith Christian Academy's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 90th in Missouri, while Veritas Christian is ranked 305th in Kansas), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Faith Christian Academy's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was McMillen, who scored 12 points along with nine assists and two steals. McMillen is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Josiah Dull, who scored 19 points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Plaza Heights Christian Academy had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.6 points), and they went ahead and made it six on Tuesday. They walked away with a 68-55 win over Center Place.
Plaza Heights Christian Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jones, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 18 rebounds. Jones is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last four games he's played. Remi Schieber was another key contributor, scoring 24 points along with seven rebounds and five steals.
Faith Christian Academy is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season. As for Plaza Heights Christian Academy, their victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-3.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Faith Christian Academy have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 41.6% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Plaza Heights Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've drained 41.3% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Faith Christian Academy against Plaza Heights Christian Academy in their previous meeting back in November of 2023 as the squad secured a 84-49 win. With Faith Christian Academy ahead 49-24 at the half, the match was all but over already.
