The Gaston Christian Eagles suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Friday. They had to suffer through a rough 82-20 loss at the hands of Concord Academy. While losing is never fun, Gaston Christian can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 386th, while Concord Academy is ranked 44th).
Despite the loss, Gaston Christian saw an underclassman step up: Happy Arune scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and four blocks. That was a full 60% of Gaston Christian's points, marking the 11th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Gianna Mingo, who scored four points along with five rebounds.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Gaston Christian struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Concord Academy racked up 27 assists.
Concord Academy got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Justice Alexander out in front who scored 20 points along with eight assists. That's the first time this season that Alexander posted eight or more assists. Another player making a difference was Taylor Smith, who scored 15 points along with six assists and six steals.
Gaston Christian has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost six of their last seven matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-9 record this season. As for Concord Academy, they pushed their record up to 16-2 with that victory, which was their 14th straight at home.
Gaston Christian will head out on the road to challenge SouthLake Christian Academy at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with four consecutive losses for SouthLake Christian Academy and five for Gaston Christian. As for Concord Academy, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Northside Christian Academy at 5:30 p.m. Northside Christian Academy is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
