Basketball Game Preview: Training Center Christian vs. Heartland Mustangs

Training Center Christian and the Heartland Mustangs will compete for holiday cheer at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Training Center Christian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 62 points per game this season.

Last Thursday, Training Center Christian didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Applewood Christian, but they still walked away with a 56-50 win.

Training Center Christian got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Creed Lopez out in front who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 18 rebounds. Lopez's evening made it nine games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryce Bryan, who posted 15 points in addition to eight rebounds and six steals.

Meanwhile, Heartland waltzed into their matchup on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They breezed by the Warriors to the tune of 52-20. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 31 points or more this season.

Training Center Christian better keep an eye on Zach Stone. He was instrumental in Heartland's win, going 9 of 18 on his way to 19 points and five steals. With that strong performance, Stone is now averaging an impressive 2.1 steals per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Daniel Noble, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 12 points and five rebounds.

Heartland pushed their record up to 6-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 32.8 points. As for Training Center Christian, they now have a winning record of 3-2.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Training Center Christian has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 38.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Heartland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.