The Pusch Ridge Christian Academy Lions's three-game losing streak came to an end on Tuesday. They strolled past Empire with points to spare, taking the game 56-39. The win was just what Pusch Ridge Christian Academy needed coming off of a 52-31 loss in their prior match.
Leading Pusch Ridge Christian Academy to victory were Mason Hoke and Ben Lambe. Hoke scored 13 points, while Lambe scored nine points along with 12 rebounds and three blocks. Those 12 rebounds set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Issac Hardeman, who scored four points along with seven rebounds.
Several Ravens players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Deshawn Washington, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds. The match was Washington's 11th in a row with at least ten points. Donovan Davidson was another key contributor, scoring 13 points.
Pusch Ridge Christian Academy now has a winning record of 8-7. As for Empire, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 13-7.
Pusch Ridge Christian Academy will head out on the road to face off against Catalina at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Catalina will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Arizona Rankings (they are ranked 325th, while Pusch Ridge Christian Academy is ranked 106th). As for Empire, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Palo Verde at 7:00 p.m. Hopefully Palo Verde focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 back in December of 2023.
