After flying high against the Langtree Charter Lions last Friday, the Christ the King Crusaders came back down to earth. Christ the King took a 56-47 hit to the loss column at the hands of Pine Lake Prep on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, Christ the King can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 355th, while Pine Lake Prep is ranked 122nd).
Christ the King's loss came despite strong showings from Parker Ryan and Marco Tampoya. Ryan scored 22 points along with five rebounds and two steals, while Tampoya scored 16 points along with eight rebounds and two blocks. Ryan is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last five games he's played.
Christ the King struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Pine Lake Prep pulled down 12 offensive rebounds.
Robert Magner was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 23 points and ten rebounds for Pine Lake Prep. Lucas Strickfaden was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with six rebounds.
Christ the King has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-10 record this season. As for Pine Lake Prep, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 11-6.
Christ the King will be playing in front of their home fans against Mountain Island Charter at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Mountain Island Charter has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 1,073 points over their last 15 matches. As for Pine Lake Prep, they will head out on the road to square off against Bradford Prep at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Bradford Prep focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Wednesday.
