The Daniel Academy Lions lost against the Blue Ridge Christian Warriors back in January of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. The Daniel Academy took a 57-46 hit to the loss column at the hands of Blue Ridge Christian. While losing is never fun, The Daniel Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 420th, while Blue Ridge Christian is ranked 138th).
Despite the loss, The Daniel Academy still got an impressive performance from Chris W, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 11 rebounds. W is crushing the rebound category: he's posted at least nine every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jesse Yap, who scored ten points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, The Daniel Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Blue Ridge Christian's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Mekhi Jones, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 13 rebounds. That makes it six consecutive games in which Jones has scored at least a third of Blue Ridge Christian's points. Pennbrook Shaver was another key contributor, scoring 20 points along with five rebounds and four steals.
The Daniel Academy has not been sharp recently as the team's lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-6 record this season. As for Blue Ridge Christian, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 8-2.
The Daniel Academy will look to defend their home court on Thursday against Whitefield Academy at 7:45 p.m. Hopefully The Daniel Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 on Tuesday. As for Blue Ridge Christian, they will head out on the road to square off against Heritage Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Blue Ridge Christian is coming into the matchup with four straight victories on the road, so Heritage Christian is out to stop a team with plenty of momentum.
