Preview: Martinsville Artesians vs. Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs
Martinsville has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. The Martinsville Artesians and the Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs will face off at 7:30 p.m. on January 26th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the pair will really light up the scoreboard.
Martinsville lost a heartbreaker to Bloomington South when they met back in March of 2022, and they left with a heavy heart again on Saturday. Martinsville took a hard 74-56 fall against Bloomington South. While losing is never fun, Martinsville can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 293rd, while Bloomington South is ranked 103rd).
Despite the loss, Martinsville had strong showings from Grady Gardner, who scored 20 points, and Hunter Stroud, who scored 16 points. That was a full 35.7% of Martinsville's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Aj Reynolds was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Meanwhile, Franklin Community didn't have too much trouble with New Palestine on the road on Saturday as they won 81-67. The win made it back-to-back wins for Franklin Community.
Franklin Community's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Micah Davis, who scored 26 points along with seven assists and five rebounds. Davis is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last eight games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kolt Nelson, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds.
Martinsville bumped their record down to 3-11 with that defeat, which was their fifth straight on the road. As for Franklin Community, their victory bumped their record up to 12-2.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Martinsville hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 51.5 points per game. It's a different story for Franklin Community, though, as they've been averaging only 62.2 points per game. The only thing between Martinsville and another offensive beatdown is Franklin Community. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Martinsville ended up a good deal behind Franklin Community in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, losing 70-52. Thankfully for Martinsville, Dylan Beverly (who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
