The Franklin Road Christian Minutemen will face off against the Lancaster Christian Academy Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Franklin Road Christian is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They strolled past Zion Christian Academy with points to spare on Thursday, taking the game 95-76. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Minutemen.
Pierre DeShields
| 02/06/25 @ Zion Christian Academy | 18 |
| 02/04/25 vs Varsity Opponent | 13 |
| 12/22/23 vs Knoxville A | 13 |
| 01/16/25 vs Tournament Opponent | 12 |
| 01/31/25 vs Varsity Opponent | 11 |
Franklin Road Christian found their leader in sophomore Pierre DeShields, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 18 rebounds. Those 18 boards gave DeShields a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Branch, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 assists.
Franklin Road Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, it may have taken double overtime to finish the job, but Lancaster Christian Academy ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They snuck past Franklin Christian Academy with a 68-63 win. Winning may never get old, but the Knights sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Franklin Road Christian better keep an eye on Josh Whitt. He was instrumental in Lancaster Christian Academy's win, dropping a double-double on 31 points and 12 rebounds. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Whitt has scored at least a third of Lancaster Christian Academy's points. Anderson Breiner was another key player, going 5 of 11 to rack up 19 points.
Franklin Road Christian's victory bumped their record up to 21-12. As for Lancaster Christian Academy, they pushed their record up to 23-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Franklin Road Christian has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Lancaster Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Franklin Road Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over Lancaster Christian Academy in their previous meeting last Tuesday, winning 69-62. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Whitt, who went 12 for 26 en route to 27 points along with eight boards and three steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Franklin Road Christian still be able to contain Whitt? There's only one way to find out.
