Preview: Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs vs. Center Grove Trojans
Franklin Community is 2-8 against Center Grove since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs will be staying on the road to face off against the Center Grove Trojans at 7:00 p.m. on March 9th. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Franklin Community extended their postseason success on Saturday against East Central. They came out on top against the Trojans by a score of 41-34. Given Franklin Community's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 17th, while East Central is ranked 182nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Franklin Community's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kolt Nelson, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Grant Hunter, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, Center Grove waltzed into their match on Saturday with 13 straight wins but they left with 14. They breezed by Martinsville on the road to the tune of 71-30. Center Grove has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 22 points or more this season.
Center Grove's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Joey Schmitz, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Jalen Bundy was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
Franklin Community's victory bumped their record up to 18-4. As for Center Grove, they are 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.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Franklin Community hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 63.1 points per game. However, it's not like Center Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 65.3 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.
Franklin Community barely slipped by Center Grove in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, winning 65-64. Will Franklin Community repeat their success, or does Center Grove have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
