The Layton Christian Academy Eagles will be staying on the road on Monday to face off against the Murray Spartans at 11:10 a.m. on February 26th. One thing working in Layton Christian Academy's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last 25 matchups.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Layton Christian Academy walked away with it. They enjoyed a cozy 61-46 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday. Given Layton Christian Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' Utah basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while Timpanogos is ranked 51st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Alan Gballou continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 17 points along with five rebounds. He hasn't dropped below 15 points for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Albert Philippe Ntungicimpaye, who scored 11 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Murray had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.6 points), and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. They snuck past Provo with a 69-63 win. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Murray to victory, but perhaps none more so than Isaiah Beh, who almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Beh has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Quinton Christman, who scored 16 points along with five steals.
Layton Christian Academy's victory bumped their record up to 23-3. As for Murray, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 18-6 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Layton Christian Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Murray struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Layton Christian Academy beat Murray 72-61 when the teams last played back in December of 2021. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Murray's Jaxson Workman, who went 6 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points and 6 assists. Now that he won't be playing on Monday, will it be that much easier for Layton Christian Academy to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
