Zion Christian Academy and Franklin Road Christian are an even 4-4 against one another since December of 2021, but not for long. The Zion Christian Academy Eagles will be playing in front of their home fans against the Franklin Road Christian Minutemen at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Zion Christian Academy's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last four matches.
Zion Christian Academy will head into Tuesday's game on the come-up: they were handed a heart-breaking two-point defeat in their last contest, but they sure didn't let that happen against Boyd Christian on Tuesday. Zion Christian Academy took their match with ease, bagging a 100-58 win over Boyd Christian. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 20 points or more this season.
Gabe Davenport continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 15 for 23 en route to 41 points and four steals. That makes it 25 consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Zion Christian Academy's points. Another player making a difference was Noah Beaman, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 13 boards.
Zion Christian Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in November of 2024.
Meanwhile, Franklin Road Christian came up short against Varsity Opponent on Friday and fell 52-44. The Minutemen have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Zion Christian Academy will have to keep a close watch on Pierre DeShields and Ben Walker, a pair of players who had a big impact on Franklin Road Christian's prior game. DeShields dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Walker posted 17 points and five boards. DeShields continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. Wes Fuqua was another key player, putting up two points and six assists.
Franklin Road Christian's loss dropped their record down to 19-12. As for Zion Christian Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 14-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Zion Christian Academy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Franklin Road Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Zion Christian Academy was able to grind out a solid win over Franklin Road Christian in their previous matchup two weeks ago, winning 83-70. Will Zion Christian Academy repeat their success, or does Franklin Road Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
