Basketball Game Preview: Sacred Heart Prep Gators vs. Saint Francis Lancers

The Sacred Heart Prep Gators and the Saint Francis Lancers will face off at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Sacred Heart Prep has three straight victories, Saint Francis has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Sacred Heart Prep will head into Friday's matchup having proved themselves against Menlo School: Sacred Heart Prep took a 21-point defeat the last time they faced off against Menlo School, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. Sacred Heart Prep came out on top in a nail-biter against Menlo School on Friday, sneaking past 54-52. The score was all tied up 23-23 at the break, but the Gators were the better team in the second half.

Alex Straser continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, putting up 16 points. His evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Zack Beals, who posted 12 points.

Meanwhile, Saint Francis suffered their biggest loss since January 30, 2024 on Friday. They had to suffer through a 75-37 loss at the hands of Archbishop Riordan. The Lancers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 42-18.

Sacred Heart Prep pushed their record up to 6-4 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.5 points per game. As for Saint Francis, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-9.

Sacred Heart Prep barely slipped by Saint Francis when the teams last played back in December of 2023, winning 70-69. Will Sacred Heart Prep repeat their success, or does Saint Francis have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.