Basketball Recap: Connor Branch's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Franklin Road Christian over Zion Christian Academy

Franklin Road Christian lost against Zion Christian Academy back in December of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. The Franklin Road Christian Minutemen took an 83-70 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Zion Christian Academy Eagles. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (65), the Minutemen still had to take the loss.

Franklin Road Christian's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Connor Branch, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 20 points. Branch's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ben Walker, who posted 14 points and seven rebounds.

Even though they lost, Franklin Road Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in four consecutive contests.

Gabe Davenport was his usual excellent self, going 16 for 35 en route to 37 points and three steals for Zion Christian Academy. That makes it 20 consecutive games in which Davenport has scored at least a third of Zion Christian Academy's points. Another player making a difference was Noah Beaman, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 19 boards.

Franklin Road Christian's loss dropped their record down to 17-9. As for Zion Christian Academy, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-8 record this season.

Franklin Road Christian wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 66-58 defeat against Pleasant View Christian on the 24th. Zion Christian Academy has also already played their next contest, a 74-54 loss against Franklin Christian Academy on the 24th.