A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Pipestem Christian Academy Panthers challenge the Teays Valley Christian Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday... Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Pipestem Christian Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took an 85-78 hit to the loss column at the hands of Grace Christian two weeks ago. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game back in December of 2024 (63), the Panthers still had to take the loss.
| 12/21/24 @ Grace Christian | 39 |
| 12/20/24 vs Ohio Valley Christian | 32 |
| 12/13/24 vs New Life Christian Academy | 18 |
Despite the loss, Pipestem Christian Academy got top-tier performance from Enoch Gonderman, who dropped a double-double on 39 points and 11 rebounds. Gonderman's afternoon made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Silas Mattox was another key player, going 6 for 9 from beyond the arc on his way to 22 points and six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Pipestem Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Teays Valley Christian fought the good fight in their overtime match against Calvary Baptist Academy on Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Patriots by a score of 61-59. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Lions have suffered since November 12, 2024.
Pipestem Christian Academy will need focus on slowing down Eli Pendleton, one of several Teays Valley Christian players who made an impact when they last played. He posted 20 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Alex Starcher, who had 17 points.
Teays Valley Christian has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-6 record this season. As for Pipestem Christian Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 5-3.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Pipestem Christian Academy hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 58.6 points per game. However, it's not like Teays Valley Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 66.9 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Pipestem Christian Academy was taken down by Teays Valley Christian 79-49 in their previous matchup back in February of 2015. Thankfully for Pipestem Christian Academy, Shane Estep (who went 12 of 22 on his way to 28 points and eight rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
