Two dominant players in Verquan Kimbrough and Alik Lewis are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Lab University Prep Regional Lab Rats are on the road again on Friday and play against the Shining Light Academy Knights at 4:00 p.m. on December 22nd. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Monday, Lab University Prep Regional was fully in charge, breezing past Walnut Grove Christian 76-36 on the road. The victory was just what Lab University Prep Regional needed coming off of a 83-44 loss in their prior contest.
Lab University Prep Regional's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kimbrough led the charge by scoring 14 points along with five assists and four steals. Another player making a difference was Carson Fogarty, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 16 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Shining Light Academy entered their tilt with Guilford Home Educators with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Shining Light Academy blew past Guilford Home Educators 78-57. Given Shining Light Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 98th, while Guilford Home Educators is ranked 516th), the result on Thursday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Shining Light Academy to victory, but perhaps none more so than Lewis, who scored 22 points along with nine rebounds and seven assists. The matchup was Lewis' tenth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Kinney, who scored 21 points.
Lab University Prep Regional's victory bumped their record up to 3-4. As for Shining Light Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 9-1.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's match: Lab University Prep Regional have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 6.1 threes per game. It's a different story for Shining Light Academy, though, as they've been averaging only 8.6 threes per game. Given Lab University Prep Regional's sizeable advantage in that area, Shining Light Academy will need to find a way to close that gap.
Lab University Prep Regional was taken down by Shining Light Academy 83-44 in their previous matchup last Tuesday. The contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Lab University Prep Regional was down 42-19.
