The Heritage Academy Heroes have been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They were outmatched by Arizona Lutheran Academy on the road and fell 68-41. While losing is never fun, Heritage Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 133rd, while Arizona Lutheran Academy is ranked 36th).
Heritage Academy's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Cameron Irby, who scored 17 points. Irby scored a full 41.5% of Heritage Academy's points, the sixth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Abdiel Holley, who scored nine points.
Stephan Iron Shell was his usual excellent self, going 6 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 22 points and 3 assists for Arizona Lutheran Academy. The game was Iron Shell's seventh in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Draper, who scored 12 points.
Heritage Academy's loss dropped their record down to 7-4. As for Arizona Lutheran Academy, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-2.
The pair will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 3rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. One thing working in Arizona Lutheran Academy's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last seven matches. As for they, they will head out on the road to face off against Heritage Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
