Basketball Recap: New Manna Christian Comes Up Short

If New Manna Christian was riding high fresh off their 66-14 takedown of Victory Christian Academy last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The New Manna Christian Wind took a 66-47 bruising from the Union Grove Christian Patriots on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Wind can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 290th, while the Patriots are ranked 73rd).

When it comes to explaining why New Manna Christian lost, don't look at Micah Wagner. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten boards. Wagner's evening made it six games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Blade Baker was another key player, going 5 for 10 on his way to 12 points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, New Manna Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Union Grove Christian only pulled down six offensive rebounds.

Colin Wykes continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Union Grove Christian, almost dropping a double-double on 21 points and nine assists. What's more, Wykes also racked up two blocks, the most he's had since back in December of 2023. Ben Johnson was another key player, putting up nine points and eight rebounds.

New Manna Christian's loss dropped their record down to 4-2. As for Union Grove Christian, their win bumped their record up to 12-3.

New Manna Christian will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Heritage Christian at 6:00 p.m. on January 10, 2025. As for Union Grove Christian, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 55-54 victory against Woodland Baptist Christian on the 16th.