Westminster Catawba Christian is 1-9 against the Eagles since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Westminster Catawba Christian Indians will be staying on the road to face off against the Concord Academy Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on February 1st. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
After a 71-56 finish the last time they played, Westminster Catawba Christian and the Knights decided to play a little more cautiously this time around. Westminster Catawba Christian escaped with a win on Tuesday against the Knights by the margin of a single free throw, 1-0. The win was all the more spectacular given Westminster Catawba Christian's disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 89th in South Carolina, while the Knights are ranked 25th in North Carolina).
Meanwhile, Concord Academy had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.3 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. They came out on top against Gaston Day by a score of 65-55. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Concord Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Alek Kornacki, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 13 rebounds. Kornacki has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last three times he's played. Lincoln Raper was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Westminster Catawba Christian's win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 20-8. As for Concord Academy, they pushed their record up to 16-14 with that win, which was their third straight on the road.
Westminster Catawba Christian won a game that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in January, slipping by the Eagles 63-62. The rematch might be a little tougher for Westminster Catawba Christian since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
