The Carmel Christian Cougars will square off against the North Hills Christian Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Carmel Christian has three straight wins, North Hills Christian has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Last Saturday, Carmel Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over Weddington, taking the game 60-52.
| 01/18/25 vs Weddington | 22 |
| 01/13/25 @ Wesleyan Christian Academy | 20 |
| 01/09/25 vs Concord Academy | 19 |
| 12/20/24 vs Rabun Gap-Nacoochee | 32 |
It was another big night for Bryce Slay, who went 8 of 16 on his way to 22 points along with five rebounds and four steals. His evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Chandler Kennedy was another key player, going 6 for 13 en route to 14 points.
Meanwhile, North Hills Christian ended up a good deal behind Statesville Christian on Thursday and lost 59-41.
Carmel Christian will have to keep a close watch on Gio Ortiz and Maverick Ball, a pair of players who had a big impact on North Hills Christian's prior game. Ortiz posted 13 points and six boards, while Ball earned 14 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals. That was a full 34.1% of North Hills Christian's points, marking the fifth time in a row he's had more than a third of the team's points.
Carmel Christian pushed their record up to 14-5 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. As for North Hills Christian, their loss dropped their record down to 4-11.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Carmel Christian hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 64.4 points per game. However, it's not like North Hills Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 58.4 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything came up roses for Carmel Christian against North Hills Christian when the teams last played back in January of 2017, as the squad secured a 95-39 victory. In that game, Carmel Christian amassed a halftime lead of 67-29, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.
