The Mount Academy Eagles will venture away from home to face off against the Dover Dragons at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Mount Academy has seven straight wins, Dover has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Mount Academy is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Millbrook: they outscored them in every quarter. Mount Academy enjoyed a cozy 70-56 victory over Millbrook on Tuesday. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 238th, while the Blazers are ranked 525th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Jake Maendel
01/14/25 vs Millbrook | 25 |
01/10/25 @ Rhinebeck | 17 |
01/07/25 @ Pine Plains | 17 |
12/19/24 vs Hawthorne Valley | 22 |
12/17/24 vs Webutuck | 22 |
Mount Academy got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Jake Maendel out in front who almost dropped a double-double on 25 points and nine rebounds. Maendel's evening made it nine games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Bruce Maendel was another key player, going 9 for 21 on his way to 26 points and six assists.
Meanwhile, Dover had to suffer through a 76-28 loss at the hands of Onteora. The contest marked the Dragons' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Mount Academy will need focus on slowing down Caden Green, one of several Dover players who made an impact when they last played. He posted eight points and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaheim Dixon, who put up ten points.
Mount Academy pushed their record up to 8-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 22 points. As for Dover, they now have a losing record at 4-5.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's match: Mount Academy has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 8.3 three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Dover, though, as they've been averaging only 3.9 three-pointers. Given Mount Academy's sizable advantage in that area, Dover will need to find a way to close that gap.
Mount Academy didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Dover when the teams last played back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 49-44 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mount Academy since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.