The Mercer Christian Academy Cavaliers entered their tilt with the Jefferson Christian Academy Cardinals with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Mercer Christian Academy enjoyed a cozy 54-39 victory over Jefferson Christian Academy on Thursday. Given Mercer Christian Academy's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 81st in West Virginia, while Jefferson Christian Academy is ranked 309th in Virginia), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Mercer Christian Academy to victory, but perhaps none more so than MJ Patton, who scored 21 points along with four steals. Patton hasn't dropped below 15points for six straight games. Another player making a difference was Chance Watkins, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds.
Jefferson Christian Academy's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Solomon Shirey, who scored 14 points, and Marshall Hopkins who scored 13 points. That was a full 35.9% of Jefferson Christian Academy's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Mercer Christian Academy's win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-6. As for Jefferson Christian Academy, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost six of their last seven matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-9 record this season.
Mercer Christian Academy will be playing at home against Mount Hope Christian Academy at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Mount Hope Christian Academy knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past three contests -- so hopefully Mercer Christian Academy likes a good challenge. As for Jefferson Christian Academy, they will head out on the road to take on Pipestem Christian Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Pipestem Christian Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 23 last Tuesday.
