Two dominant players in Ayden Boyd and Isaiah Freel are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy Cougars will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Still Creek Christian Colts at 6:00 p.m. Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy will stroll in with a eight game home winning streak (dating back to last season), but they should still watch out: the last time they lost at home was their January 5 matchup with Still Creek Christian.
Even though Faith Christian scored an imposing 64 points on Tuesday, Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy still came out on top. Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy walked away with a 74-64 victory over the Saints. Given Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 553rd, while the Saints are ranked 1370th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy had a senior duo take command as Jaimon Joseph scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and three steals and Jayden Blake-Benard scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks. Joseph has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Boyd was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, Still Creek Christian struggled with assists on Friday (the Saints had 16 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Still Creek Christian was dealt a 76-43 defeat at the hands of the Saints. Still Creek Christian was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 41-20.
Still Creek Christian's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Freel, who scored 12 points along with four steals, and Jeremy Reed who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds. It was the first time this season that Reed scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Mangon, who scored five points along with six rebounds.
Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy's victory bumped their record up to 15-1. As for Still Creek Christian, they have not been sharp recently as the team's lost ten of their last 12 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-14 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Still Creek Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy took their victory against the Colts when the teams last played last Tuesday by a conclusive 66-42. With Kingwood Christian Life Center Academy ahead 36-14 at the half, the match was all but over already.
