Basketball Game Preview: Franklin Pierce Cardinals vs. Eatonville Cruisers

Franklin Pierce has gone 6-0 against Eatonville recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Franklin Pierce Cardinals will welcome the Eatonville Cruisers at 5:15 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Franklin Pierce has ten straight wins, Eatonville has 26 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Franklin Pierce is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took their game on Tuesday with ease, bagging an 87-36 victory over Foss. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 matches by 20 points or more this season.

Franklin Pierce can attribute much of their success to Javon Barbee, who dropped a double-double on 31 points and 11 boards, and Hakeen Collins, who went 12 of 21 on his way to 25 points and eight rebounds. Barbee's evening made it 17 games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Jimrac Newmann-Godful, who went 6 for 8 en route to 12 points and three steals.

Franklin Pierce smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 20 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Eatonville ended up a good deal behind Steilacoom on Tuesday and lost 55-36.

Franklin Pierce's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-3. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 33.4 points. As for Eatonville, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-17.

Everything came up roses for Franklin Pierce against Eatonville when the teams last played on January 7th, as the team secured a 73-26 victory. Will Franklin Pierce repeat their success, or does Eatonville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.