The Northwood Temple Academy Eagles will challenge the Harrells Christian Academy Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Northwood Temple Academy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Northwood Temple Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against Eastern Wayne by a score of 113-102 on Saturday.
| 12/28/24 vs Eastern Wayne | 26 |
| 12/27/24 vs Wayne Country Day | 17 |
| 12/21/24 vs Cape Fear Academy | 23 |
| 12/20/24 vs Elevation Prep Academy | 16 |
| 12/14/24 vs Ambassador Christian School | 18 |
Northwood Temple Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kenny Vera led the charge by shooting 4-for-6 from deep and dropping a double-double on 26 points and 11 rebounds. The contest was Vera's fifth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Elijah Kindle, who went 12 of 23 en route to 30 points and three steals.
Northwood Temple Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Harrells Christian Academy had already won two in a row and they went ahead and made it three on Saturday. They walked away with a 66-55 win over the Cougars. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 20th, while the Cougars are ranked 272nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Northwood Temple Academy better keep an eye on Antonio Mckoy. He was instrumental in Harrells Christian Academy's win, going 13 of 17 on his way to 31 points along with six boards and three steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Mckoy has scored at least a third of Harrells Christian Academy's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Dashaun Mckoy, who went 5 of 9 on his way to 15 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals.
Harrells Christian Academy is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-2 record this season. As for Northwood Temple Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 13-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Northwood Temple Academy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Harrells Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Northwood Temple Academy suffered a grim 81-61 defeat to Harrells Christian Academy in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. Will Northwood Temple Academy have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.
