Northeast Academy is 2-8 against Ridgecroft since December of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Northeast Academy Eagles will be playing in front of their home fans against the Ridgecroft Rams at 7:30 p.m. Ridgecroft took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Northeast Academy, who comes in off a win.
Northeast Academy had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. They managed a 34-29 win over Oakwood.
Northeast Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jake Parks led the charge by scoring four points along with ten rebounds and five assists. Parks hasn't dropped below two steals for four straight games. Judson Smith was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with six steals.
Meanwhile, Ridgecroft pushed their score all the way to 66 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 74-66 hit to the loss column at the hands of Lawrence Academy.
Ridgecroft's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Antron Gray, who scored 23 points along with five assists, and Sawyer Chamblee who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Bill Vaughan, who scored seven points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Northeast Academy's win bumped their record up to 4-12. As for Ridgecroft, their loss dropped their record down to 12-5.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Northeast Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Ridgecroft struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Northeast Academy was taken down by Ridgecroft 49-14 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ridgecroft's Nacir Lewis, who scored 20 points along with two steals. Now that Northeast Academy knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
