Basketball Recap: Hope Academy's Win on Saturday Extends Winning Streak to Six

Hope Academy came tearing into Saturday's matchup with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with a 73-62 victory over the Vanguard Panthers. Given the Trojan Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 224th, while the Panthers are ranked 486th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Hope Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Willie Griggs, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 19 rebounds. That's the most rebounds Griggs has posted since back in January. Nathaniel Boyer was another key player, going 6 for 11 on his way to 17 points in addition to eight boards and five assists.

Hope Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Vanguard only racked up six assists.

Vanguard's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jaelen Randall, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 boards. Randall is also crushing it when it comes to steals: he's grabbed at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Turral Berry, who posted 20 points and five rebounds.

Hope Academy's win bumped their record up to 7-2. As for Vanguard, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-7.

Hope Academy didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 100-38 victory against Four Corners on the 16th. As for Vanguard, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 66-61 loss against Fort Meade on the 16th.