Basketball Recap: Pipestem Christian Academy Comes Up Short

If Pipestem Christian Academy was riding high fresh off their 56-35 takedown of West Logan Christian Academy on Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Pipestem Christian Academy Panthers fell 57-50 to the Mountain Mission Challengers on Saturday. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Panthers came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 69th in West Virginia, while the Challengers are ranked 292nd in Virginia).

When it comes to explaining why Pipestem Christian Academy lost, don't look at Enoch Gonderman. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 23 points and 19 rebounds. That's the most boards Gonderman has posted since back in January of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Silas Mattox, who posted 15 points.

Even though they lost, Pipestem Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Pipestem Christian Academy's loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 8-7. As for Mountain Mission, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-8 record this season.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Pipestem Christian Academy will square off against Jefferson Christian Academy at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Mountain Mission, they will face off against Varsity Opponent at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.