Basketball Game Preview: Challis Vikings vs. Grace Lutheran Royals

The Challis Vikings will venture away from home to take on the Grace Lutheran Royals at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Challis is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.8 points per game this season.

Challis is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Butte County on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Challis lost 75-49 to Butte County. The Vikings were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 45-24.

Brayden Ollar put forth a good effort for the losing side as he almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine boards. Ramey Rhoades was another key player, putting up 11 points.

Meanwhile, Grace Lutheran humbled Clark County with a 65-30 victory. That 35 point margin sets a new team best for the Royals this season.

Challis better focus on containing Garrett Grayson and Ethan Flicker as the pair were huge in Grace Lutheran's win. Grayson almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds, while Flicker went 8 of 12 on his way to 16 points and seven boards. Flicker has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jaxon Miller, who posted seven points and three steals.

The win made it two in a row for Grace Lutheran and bumps their season record up to 8-4. As for Challis, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-8.

Everything came up roses for Challis against Grace Lutheran in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, as the team secured a 54-20 victory. Will Challis repeat their success, or does Grace Lutheran have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.