After a string of three wins, the Liberty Christian Academy Heat's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They ended up on the wrong side of a rough 69-45 walloping at the hands of Hilltop Christian. While losing is never fun, Liberty Christian Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 491st, while Hilltop Christian is ranked 136th).
Liberty Christian Academy lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Lucas McCraney, who scored ten points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points McCraney has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Mark Bachmann, who scored 12 points.
Liberty Christian Academy struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Hilltop Christian pulled down 14 offensive rebounds.
Hilltop Christian's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Carter Snow, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and ten assists. That's the first time this season that Snow posted eight or more assists. Caleb Manriquez was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with seven rebounds and six assists.
Liberty Christian Academy's loss dropped their record down to 5-7. As for Hilltop Christian, their victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-3.
Liberty Christian Academy will take on Southeastern Christian Academy at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Southeastern Christian Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 22 last Thursday. As for Hilltop Christian, they will head out on the road to square off against Bethel Christian Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
