Basketball Recap: New Hope Academy Regional Sets Scoring Season-High Against New Life Christian Academy

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask New Hope Academy Regional). They took down the New Life Christian Academy Monarchs 87-68 on Saturday. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 39th in Maryland, while the Monarchs are ranked 270th in North Carolina), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

New Hope Academy Regional's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Lawson Hopkins, who dropped a double-double with 30 points and ten boards. Hopkins' big performance that evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Kellen Powell, who posted 22 points and three steals.

New Life Christian Academy's defeat came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Noah Melvin, who shot 46% from the field on his way to 15 points and four blocks. New Life Christian Academy is 2-1 when Melvin posts three or more blocks, but 16-17 otherwise. Mikhi Nobles was another key player, going 8-for-14 en route to 16 points and five assists.

The victory (which was New Hope Academy Regional's fourth in a row) raised their record to 17-19. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.3 points over those games. As for New Life Christian Academy, with the loss, they broke their four-game winning streak and moved their record to 18-18.

New Hope Academy Regional has already played their next contest, a 76-64 defeat against Varsity Opponent on the 2nd. As for New Life Christian Academy, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 67-58 win against Oak Hill Academy International on the 2nd.