Cross Keys hasn't had much luck against Atlanta Jewish Academy recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Cross Keys Phoenix will be home for the holidays to greet the Atlanta Jewish Academy Jaguar at 7:30 p.m. Cross Keys is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last six games.
Cross Keys will head into Friday's contest having proved themselves against Howard: Cross Keys took a 21-point defeat the last time they faced off against Howard, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. Cross Keys came out on top in a nail-biter against Howard on Friday, sneaking past 55-53. The win was all the more spectacular given the Phoenix's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 316th, while the Hawks are ranked 143rd).
| 12/13/24 vs Howard | 29 |
| 12/12/24 vs Cumberland Academy of Georgia | 16 |
| 12/10/24 vs Fulton Science Academy | 22 |
| 12/09/24 @ Varsity Opponent | 19 |
| 12/06/24 @ Varsity Opponent | 20 |
Dre Tucker was his usual excellent self, putting up 29 points and five steals. His evening made it 11 games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Christian Holmes, who posted ten points along with six rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Jewish Academy beat St. Mary's Academy 56-49 on Tuesday.
Cross Keys better keep an eye on Zac Agichtein. He was instrumental in Atlanta Jewish Academy's win, almost dropping a double-double on 36 points and nine boards. That makes it eight consecutive games in which Agichtein has scored at least a third of Atlanta Jewish Academy's points. Aryeh Cohen was another key player, posting six points and eight rebounds.
Cross Keys has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season. As for Atlanta Jewish Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 5-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Cross Keys has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Atlanta Jewish Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 35.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Cross Keys took a serious blow against Atlanta Jewish Academy in their previous meeting back in November, falling 66-39. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Agichtein, who dropped a double-double on 33 points and ten rebounds. Now that Cross Keys knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
