Region 1-A: High Point Academy vs. St. Joseph’s Catholic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday's contest between these two region rivals featured the two teams that have compiled the highest season-long win totals of any teams in Region 1-A.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Entering Friday evening's get-together, homestanding St. Joseph's Catholic had built a 17-6 record while that of High Point Academy was 12-8. While the Grizzlies have exceled in region play, the Knights have encountered its fair share of struggles against Region 1-A foes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Knights put forth a strong effort in hopes of reversing its recent region woes, but the Grizzlies pulled off a miraculous comeback late to stun St. Joseph's Catholic with the final tally being 42-39.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Remember What Happened Last Time?</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When these two teams last shared the same court together, it was at the Grizzlies' home court. The end result of that contest was a 54-36 High Point Academy win earlier this month.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quarter-By-Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Knights, despite a strong non-region showing, needed a big win to improve its standing in 1-A. The first quarter seemed to tell a tale of a St. Joseph's Catholic team that would do just that. With one in the books, the Knights had an early 8-3 lead on the Grizzlies.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At one point in the second quarter, the Grizzlies pulled ahead by a margin of 10-9 before a late second quarter run by St. Joseph's. As halftime commenced, the Knights would lead by a margin of 20-12.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All signs were pointing to the Knights claiming its second region win in the third quarter as the home team increased its lead into double digits. Eight minutes remained and the St. Joseph's advantage over High Point was 31-21.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Then the fourth quarter happened – and it was a forgettable one to say the least for St. Joseph's. The Grizzlies outscored the Knights by a margin of 21-8. Even with the three-point edge, St. Joseph's had one more opportunity to tie the game with a 3-pointer. The Knights triple attempt was no good and High Point departed from the Knights' home court with a huge region victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2333279,"width":"562px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/IMG_9034-crop-3205x2105-1706376282.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/IMG_9034-crop-3205x2105-1706376282.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2333279" style="width:562px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2314654' first='Chris' last='Copeland']</strong> was particularly instrumental in the Grizzlies' comeback efforts. He concluded his evening with a 17-point performance. Copeland also has junior varsity experience on his basketball resume.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2333282,"width":"549px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/IMG_9067-crop-1833x1204-1706376409.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/IMG_9067-crop-1833x1204-1706376409.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2333282" style="width:549px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mike Mallory</strong> was one of the eight seniors High Point Academy recently honored at its Senior Day. The veteran guard added 11 points to the Grizzlies' total. Mallory played his final AAU season last year with BBB Elite.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2333284,"width":"550px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/IMG_9173-crop-2236x1469-1706376522.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/IMG_9173-crop-2236x1469-1706376522.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2333284" style="width:550px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Joseph's benefitted from the 12 points that were placed on the board courtesy of senior small forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2305386' first='Matteo' last='Mazza']</strong>. Along with handling the ball and making plays near the rim, Mazza also had plenty of success getting to the free throw line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2333288,"width":"550px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/IMG_9046-crop-2668x1752-1706376624.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/IMG_9046-crop-2668x1752-1706376624.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2333288" style="width:550px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Knights also got nine points from sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2461028' first='Owen' last='Smith']</strong>. All of his points were put on the board courtesy of the 3-pointer. Smith keyed St. Joseph's early point-compiling efforts with two early triples in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Up Next...</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The win for the Grizzlies allowed them to keep pace with Christ Church which upped its region mark to 5-0 via a victory over Brashier Middle College. High Point will take on those same Cavaliers on Tuesday at Christ Church in a contest that will almost certainly decide the region championship.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The next contest for St. Joseph's will also be against the Cavaliers – at Christ Church on Friday, Feb. 2. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams' remaining regular season schedules will see them play the same three teams – Christ Church, Southside Christian and Brashier. All of the Grizzlies' upcoming matchups are on the road while the lone home matchup remaining for the Knights is on Feb. 9 vs. Brashier.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->