Basketball Game Preview: Wayne Memorial Zebras vs. Churchill Chargers

Wayne Memorial is 10-0 against Churchill since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Wayne Memorial Zebras will be playing at home against the Churchill Chargers at 7:00 p.m. Wayne Memorial is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 70.7 points per game this season.

Wayne Memorial is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Michigan's top teams: St. Mary's Prep, who was ranked fifth at the time (Wayne Memorial was ranked 17th). Wayne Memorial received a blow on Sunday as they fell 62-48 to St. Mary's Prep. The contest marked the Zebras' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

Despite the loss, Wayne Memorial got top-tier performance from Carlos Medlock Jr, who posted 27 points in addition to seven boards and four steals. The game was Medlock Jr's sixth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylohn Allen, who had 13 points.

Even though they lost, Wayne Memorial smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in eight consecutive contests dating back to last season.

While Churchill didn't have the best season last year (they finished 0-23), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 46-44 victory over Kettering on Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Chargers.

Churchill's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-1. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.5 points per game. As for Wayne Memorial, they moved to 4-2 with that defeat, which also ended their three-game winning streak.

Wayne Memorial strolled past Churchill in their previous meeting back in January of 2024 by a score of 62-47. Will Wayne Memorial repeat their success, or does Churchill have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.