Basketball Game Preview: Wardlaw Academy Patriots vs. Providence Athletic Club Panthers

The Wardlaw Academy Patriots will take on the Providence Athletic Club Panthers in a holiday battle at 7:00 p.m. on Monday at. Wardlaw Academy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.

Wardlaw Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took a 72-61 hit to the loss column at the hands of Mead Hall Episcopal School on Monday.

Defeat or not, Wardlaw Academy got some senior leadership from Colt Bailey and Noah Harper. Bailey went 8 of 18 on his way to 21 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals, while Harper posted 24 points. With that strong performance, Harper is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Resse Harper, who put up ten points along with seven assists and six boards.

Meanwhile, Providence Athletic Club played a tough matchup on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were outmatched by Northside Christian Academy and fell 100-59. The Panthers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 59-27.

Wardlaw Academy will have to keep a close watch on Freeman Bult and Mark Lara, a pair of players who had a big impact on Providence Athletic Club's prior game. Bult went 10 of 18 on his way to 24 points, while Lara went 8 of 16 on his way to 23 points.

Providence Athletic Club's loss was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 4-6. As for Wardlaw Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.

Wardlaw Academy was taken down by Providence Athletic Club 73-31 when the teams last played back in December of 2022. Thankfully for Wardlaw Academy, Mark Mancuso (who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.