Preview: Center Grove Trojans vs. Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs
Center Grove is 8-2 against Franklin Community since January of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Center Grove Trojans will be staying on the road to face off against the Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs at 7:00 p.m. on March 9th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Indiana (Center Grove is ranked ninth, while Franklin Community is ranked 17th).
Center Grove extended their postseason success on Saturday against Martinsville. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Artesians 71-30 on the road. Center Grove has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 22 points or more this season.
Center Grove got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Joey Schmitz out in front who scored 15 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Jalen Bundy was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
Meanwhile, Franklin Community entered their tilt with East Central with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Franklin Community came out on top against East Central by a score of 41-34 on Saturday.
Franklin Community's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kolt Nelson, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Grant Hunter, who scored 12 points.
Center Grove is on a roll lately: they've won 17 of their last 18 games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season. Franklin Community's record is now 18-4.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Center Grove hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 65.3 points per game. However, it's not like Franklin Community struggles in that department as they've been averaging 63.1 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Center Grove and Franklin Community were neck-and-neck when the teams last played back in November of 2023, but Center Grove came up empty-handed after a 65-64 defeat. Can Center Grove avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
