The Liberty Christian Lions will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Shenandoah Raiders at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up eight more assists than your opponent, a fact Liberty Christian proved on Wednesday. They came out on top against Phalen Leadership Academy by a score of 64-54.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Liberty Christian to victory, but perhaps none more so than Tamarje English, who scored 19 points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Devon Kelley, who scored 17 points along with nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, it was close, but Shenandoah ultimately received the gift of a 46-44 win from a begrudging Raiderssquad. Given their advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 165th, while Evansville Day is ranked 351st), the result on Saturday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Shenandoah found their leader in underclassman Jonny Howard, who went 6 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 24 points and 5 assists. Those five assists set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Zane Mitchell, who scored six points along with six assists.
Liberty Christian's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 5-4. As for Shenandoah, their win bumped their record up to 7-3.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Liberty Christian have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 43% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Shenandoah struggles in that department as they've drained 40% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Liberty Christian against Shenandoah in their previous matchup back in December of 2022 as the squad secured a 68-25 win. Does Liberty Christian have another victory up their sleeve, or will Shenandoah turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
