The Franklin Academy Patriots will square off against the NCSSM: Durham Unicorns at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Franklin Academy knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight matchups -- so hopefully NCSSM: Durham likes a good challenge.
Franklin Academy is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Falls Lake: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Franklin Academy blew Falls Lake out of the water with a 69-28 final score. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 259th, while the Firebirds are ranked 574th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 02/09/24 @ Falls Lake | 19 |
| 11/12/24 vs Henderson Collegiate | 18 |
| 01/28/25 @ Falls Lake | 17 |
| 02/21/24 vs Raleigh Charter | 17 |
| 01/05/24 @ Neuse Charter | 15 |
Franklin Academy can attribute much of their success to Hayes Lewis, who went 7 for 10 en route to 22 points and five boards, and Jaden Lewis, who went 7 of 11 on his way to 17 points and three steals. That's the most points Jaden has posted since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Micah Rutledge, who posted six points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, NCSSM: Durham waltzed into their contest on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Phoenix 62-35. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Unicorns had established a 21 point advantage.
NCSSM: Durham's win came from a few key players Franklin Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Chris Chen, who went 7 for 10 en route to 17 points. Jay Peng was another key player, going 5 of 11 on his way to 11 points in addition to six boards and three steals.
NCSSM: Durham smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.
NCSSM: Durham's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-7. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 25.5 points. As for Franklin Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Franklin Academy and NCSSM: Durham are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Franklin Academy hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 62.8 points per game. However, it's not like NCSSM: Durham struggles in that department as they've been averaging 58.6 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Franklin Academy strolled past NCSSM: Durham in their previous meeting last Thursday by a score of 67-53. The rematch might be a little tougher for Franklin Academy since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
