Two dominant players in Trey Boychuk and Hunter Roark are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Academy Wildcats will be playing at home against the Stargate School Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Academy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
The Academy fought the good fight in their overtime game against Eagle Ridge Academy on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 68-65. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their last game last Tuesday (59), The Academy still had to take the loss.
The Academy's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Boychuk, who scored 28 points along with two steals, and CJ Hernandez who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds. That was a full 43.1% of The Academy's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Ian Lamar was another key contributor, scoring three points along with six assists and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Stargate School beat Jefferson Academy 51-38 on Saturday. The win was just what Stargate School needed coming off of a 68-42 loss in their prior match.
Stargate School can attribute much of their success to Dylan Perkins, who scored 17 points along with six rebounds and two blocks, and Roark, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds. That's the first time this season that Perkins posted two or more blocks.
The Academy has not been sharp recently, as they've lost seven of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-9 record this season. As for Stargate School, their win bumped their record up to 6-3.
The Academy came up short against Stargate School when the teams last played back in January of 2023, falling 76-68. Thankfully for The Academy, David Thumma (who scored 16 points along with six rebounds and two blocks) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.