vs
| 02/10/24 - Neutral | 65-55 W |
| 01/04/24 - Home | 65-46 W |
| 01/31/23 - Home | 56-51 W |
| 01/03/23 - Away | 63-57 W |
| 01/18/20 - Neutral | 58-42 W |
Payne Tech is 5-0 against North Star Academy since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Payne Tech Lions will finish 2024 at home by hosting North Star Academy at 11:30 a.m.
Payne Tech is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Jersey's top teams: Linden, who was ranked fourth at the time (Payne Tech was ranked 13th). Payne Tech lost to Linden at home by a 55-39 margin on Sunday. The game marked the Lions' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask North Star Academy). They blew past North Plainfield 78-58 on Monday. The win made it back-to-back victories for North Star Academy.
North Star Academy's win came from a few key players Payne Tech will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Johnny Mayers Ii, who went 6 for 12 on his way to 17 points and four steals. His evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tajee Carter, who went 9 of 17 on his way to 20 points.
Payne Tech now has a losing record at 2-3. As for North Star Academy, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Payne Tech was able to grind out a solid win over North Star Academy in their previous meeting back in February, winning 65-55. Does Payne Tech have another victory up their sleeve, or will North Star Academy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
