Basketball Game Preview: Speedway Sparkplugs vs. Martinsville Artesians

The Speedway Sparkplugs will head out on the road to face off against the Martinsville Artesians at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Speedway is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.

Speedway is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Shelbyville on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Speedway was outmatched by Shelbyville and fell 88-51. While losing is never fun, the Sparkplugs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 385th, while the Golden Bears are ranked 50th).

Meanwhile, Martinsville was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 46-40 to Franklin Community. The Artesians haven't had much luck with the Grizzly Cubs recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.

Speedway will need focus on slowing down Zhane Capshaw, one of several Martinsville players who made an impact when they last played. He went 5 of 7 on his way to 10 points and six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Grady Gardner, who posted 13 points.

Martinsville's defeat dropped their record down to 4-11. As for Speedway, their loss dropped their record down to 2-11.

Speedway took their win against Martinsville when the teams last played back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 67-46. The rematch might be a little tougher for Speedway since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.