Southern Christian is 0-4 against Ezekiel Academy since February of 2021 but things could change on Friday. The Southern Christian Patriots will face off against the Ezekiel Academy Knights at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with three losses in a row, Southern Christian turned things around against First Assembly Christian on Tuesday. They secured a 50-45 W over the Lions. The team ran away with 36 points in the first half and mostly just sat on those to pick up the victory.
| 01/07/25 @ First Assembly Christian | 3 |
| 01/06/25 vs Ezekiel Academy | 7 |
| 01/04/25 vs East Central HomeSchool | 2 |
| 01/03/25 @ East Central HomeSchool | 4 |
Southern Christian relied on the efforts of Cole Johnson, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 11 boards, and Jedd Scott, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 15 points along with six boards and three steals. Scott has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Gabriel Decker, who posted eight points.
Southern Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in six consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Ezekiel Academy had already won ten in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.7 points) and they went ahead and made it 11 on Thursday. They blew past the Eagles 81-59. The Knights have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 22 points or more this season.
Southern Christian better keep an eye on Kelson Free. He was instrumental in Ezekiel Academy's win, going 13 of 21 on his way to 33 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals. That's the most points Free has posted since back in January of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Elijah Taylor, who had 14 points.
Ezekiel Academy is on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 13 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 19-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.3 points per game. As for Southern Christian, their record now sits at 3-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Southern Christian has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 34.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Ezekiel Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.8 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Southern Christian ended up a good deal behind Ezekiel Academy when the teams last played on Monday, losing 65-50. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Free, who went 8 of 14 on his way to 19 points along with six boards and four steals. Now that Southern Christian knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
