East New York Family Academy will head out to take on the Nazareth Kingsmen at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Wednesday, East New York Family Academy blew past Fort Hamilton, posting a 77-14 victory. East New York Family Academy has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 42 points or more this season.
| 01/08/25 @ Fort Hamilton | 25 |
| 01/05/25 vs Manasquan | 25 |
| 12/28/24 vs Freedom | 50 |
| 12/27/24 vs The Academy of the Holy Cross | 18 |
It was another big night for Arianna Mercado, who went 11 of 18 on her way to 25 points and six steals. Her afternoon made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Janaya Henderson, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten boards.
East New York Family Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Nazareth, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They secured a 57-51 W over St. Francis Prep on Wednesday. Given the Kingsmen's advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked second, while the Terriers are ranked 27th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Nazareth's win came from a few key players East New York Family Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Makylah Moore, who posted 13 points in addition to seven boards and four steals. Another player making a difference was Arly Zapata, who had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Nazareth pushed their record up to 11-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. As for East New York Family Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: East New York Family Academy has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 25.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Nazareth struggles in that department as they've been averaging 22.5 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
