Basketball Game Preview: Willow Spring Storm vs. Garner Trojans

Willow Spring hasn't had much luck against Garner recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Willow Spring Storm are taking a road trip to square off against the Garner Trojans at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Garner better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if last week is any indication, that's when Willow Spring really get things going. Willow Spring blew past Fuquay - Varina 79-56 on Friday. Given the Storm's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 110th, while the Bengals are ranked 327th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Grant Overman

Blocked Shots

12/13/24 @ Fuquay - Varina	3
12/10/24 vs Broughton	4
12/03/24 vs Athens Drive	6
11/26/24 @ Holly Springs	7
11/23/24 vs Apex	3

Willow Spring can attribute much of their success to Brady Williams, who posted 18 points in addition to eight boards and seven steals, and Grant Overman, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 19 rebounds. Overman is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last 29 games he's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Brandon Brooks, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 15 points.

Willow Spring smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since the start of last season.

Meanwhile, Garner was able to grind out a solid win over South Garner on Tuesday, taking the game 59-49. The 59-point effort marked the Trojans' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Garner pushed their record up to 4-1 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 76.5 points per game. As for Willow Spring, their win bumped their record up to 5-3.

Willow Spring was taken down by Garner 90-61 in their previous matchup back in January. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Willow Spring was down 54-33.