The Santa Fe Catholic Hawks will take on the Foundation Academy Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Santa Fe Catholic comes in on nine and Foundation Academy on four.
Santa Fe Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Lakeland Christian 74-28. The Hawks have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 contests by 22 points or more this season.
| 02/05/25 vs Lakeland Christian | 23 |
| 02/01/25 vs Evans | 23 |
| 01/29/25 vs Winthrop College Prep Academy | 32 |
| 01/28/25 @ Lake Wales | 31 |
| 01/25/25 vs Maclay | 24 |
Tate Darner was his usual excellent self, going 8 for 13 on his way to 23 points and three steals. The game was his tenth in a row with at least ten points. Ethan Knox was another key player, going 6 of 13 en route to 12 points along with eight boards and three steals.
Meanwhile, Foundation Academy posted their closest win since January 23, 2024 on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Cornerstone Charter Academy, sneaking past 62-59. Given the Lions 's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 153rd, while the Ducks are ranked 423rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Santa Fe Catholic better keep an eye on Josh Mercado. He was instrumental in Foundation Academy's win, almost dropping a double-double on 26 points and nine rebounds. Those 26 points gave Mercado a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Michels, who went 5 for 11 on his way to 12 points in addition to eight boards and five blocks.
Santa Fe Catholic has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 13 matches, which provided a massive bump to their 18-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.4 points per game. As for Foundation Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 18-8.
Santa Fe Catholic strolled past Foundation Academy in their previous meeting two weeks ago by a score of 82-67. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Foundation Academy's Alex Nichols, who went 8 of 17 en route to 24 points and five rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Santa Fe Catholic still be able to contain Nichols? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
