The Santa Fe Catholic Hawks will square off against the Foundation Academy Lions at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Santa Fe Catholic comes in on three and Foundation Academy on four.
Santa Fe Catholic is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Winter Haven: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Santa Fe Catholic blew Winter Haven out of the water with an 84-42 final score. The Hawks have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 22 points or more this season.
| 01/22/25 @ Winter Haven | 25 |
| 01/18/25 vs Bishop Verot | 26 |
| 01/14/25 @ Victory Christian Academy | 18 |
| 01/11/25 vs The Villages Charter | 20 |
Santa Fe Catholic got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Tate Darner out in front who went 8 of 10 en route to 25 points. Darner's evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Toby Lane, who posted 12 points along with eight assists and six boards.
Santa Fe Catholic was working as a unit and finished the game with 25 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Meanwhile, Foundation Academy escaped with a win on Thursday against The First Academy by the margin of a single free throw, 77-76. The victory almost wasn't to be: the Lions were down 48-33 in the second quarter.
Foundation Academy found their leader in sophomore Alex Nichols, who went 6 for 8 on his way to 24 points and five rebounds. Nichols has been hot for a while, having posted 15 or more points the last ten times he's played. Josh Mercado was another key player, as he made all 6 shots he took racking up 14 points.
Santa Fe Catholic is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a massive bump to their 12-8 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.9 points per game. As for Foundation Academy, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Santa Fe Catholic has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Foundation Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
