Even though the Hickory Grove Christian Lions scored an imposing 57 points on Monday, the Heathwood Hall Episcopal Highlanders still came out on top. Heathwood Hall Episcopal came out on top in a nail-biter against Hickory Grove Christian and snuck past 59-57. Given Heathwood Hall Episcopal's advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 166th in South Carolina, while Hickory Grove Christian is ranked 398th in North Carolina), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Heathwood Hall Episcopal was led to victory by Deuce Claxton and Henry Morris. Claxton scored ten points along with three steals, while Morris scored 14 points along with eight rebounds. Xander Pertile was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Hickory Grove Christian lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Kevin Powell, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Tristan Nelson, who scored 13 points.
Heathwood Hall Episcopal's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-14. As for Hickory Grove Christian, they have not been sharp recently as the team has lost 15 of their last 16 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-21 record this season.
Heathwood Hall Episcopal won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Trinity Collegiate at 5:00 p.m. on February 6th. Trinity Collegiate has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Hickory Grove Christian, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Liberty Preparatory Christian at 7:00 p.m. The timing isn't great for Hickory Grove Christian: they have been struggling with seven straight losses at home, while Liberty Preparatory Christian has snatched up four consecutive wins on the road.
