Basketball Game Preview: Grafton Spoilers vs. Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg Patriots

Grafton is 10-0 against Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg since January of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Grafton Spoilers will challenge the Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg Patriots at 7:15 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Grafton is headed into Thursday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Monday. They were dealt an 86-59 loss at the hands of Thief River Falls. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Spoilers came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 22nd in North Dakota, while the Prowlers are ranked 101st in Minnesota).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg). They walked away with a 70-60 win over Larimore on Tuesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Patriots.

Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg is also on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 4-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.4 points per game. As for Grafton, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-3.

Everything came up roses for Grafton against Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, as the squad secured a 72-32 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Grafton since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.