Basketball Game Preview: Eno River Academy Bobcats vs. Excelsior Classical Academy Flying Lions

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Previous 3 Games

01/07/25 - Home	57-40 W
02/02/24 - Away	62-55 W
01/10/24 - Home	56-50 W

Eno River Academy is 3-0 against Excelsior Classical Academy since January of 2024 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. Having just played yesterday, the Eno River Academy Bobcats will head out on the road to face off against the Excelsior Classical Academy Flying Lions at 7:00 p.m. Eno River Academy is coming into the matchup on a four-game losing streak.

Eno River Academy is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Voyager Academy on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Eno River Academy was dealt a 75-47 defeat at the hands of Voyager Academy. While losing is never fun, the Bobcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 459th, while the Vikings are ranked 224th).

Meanwhile, Excelsior Classical Academy was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 62-56 to Discovery Charter School. While the Flying Lions didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Trailblazers 19-14 in the first quarter.

Eno River Academy will have to keep a close watch on Shawn Francis-Service and Hunter Goss, a pair of players who had a big impact on Excelsior Classical Academy's prior game. Francis-Service posted 23 points and three steals, while Goss dropped a double-double on 13 points and 14 rebounds. Francis-Service is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyler Hill, who earned eight points.

Even though they lost, Excelsior Classical Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in ten consecutive contests.

Excelsior Classical Academy's loss dropped their record down to 10-7. As for Eno River Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-7.

Eno River Academy strolled past Excelsior Classical Academy in their previous matchup on January 7th by a score of 57-40. The rematch might be a little tougher for Eno River Academy since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.