The Providence Classical Paladins will square off against the Judah Christian Academy Lions at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Providence Classical will be strutting in after a win while Judah Christian Academy will be coming in after a defeat.
Providence Classical took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Kingdom Leadership Academy as Providence Classical made off with a 48-28 victory. The win was all the more spectacular given the Paladins' disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 608th, while the Chargers are ranked 221st).
Providence Classical found their leader in freshman Grafton Eiff, who went 7 for 12 en route to 23 points along with seven rebounds and five assists. That makes it four consecutive games in which Eiff has scored at least a third of Providence Classical's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Malachi Thompson, who posted seven points in addition to six boards and six blocks.
Meanwhile, Judah Christian Academy didn't have quite enough to beat UR Academy on Tuesday and fell 62-60. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (56), Judah Christian Academy still had to take the loss.
Providence Classical will need focus on slowing down Josiah Vroege, one of several Judah Christian Academy players who made an impact when they last played. He went 6 of 11 on his way to 17 points. Vroege is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Chase Haggins, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine rebounds.
Even though they lost, Judah Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as UR Academy only pulled down five offensive boards.
Judah Christian Academy's loss dropped their record down to 4-3. As for Providence Classical, the victory snapped their losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 5-8 record.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Providence Classical has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Judah Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Providence Classical against Judah Christian Academy in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 65-34 win. Will Providence Classical repeat their success, or does Judah Christian Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
