Basketball Game Preview: New Covenant Gryphons vs. Eastern Mennonite Flames

New Covenant is 0-10 against Eastern Mennonite since January of 2018 but things could change on Thursday. The New Covenant Gryphons will venture away from home to face off against the Eastern Mennonite Flames at 6:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with three defeats in a row, New Covenant turned things around against Tandem Friends on Tuesday. They came out on top against the Badgers by a score of 50-39. Given the Gryphons 's advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 102nd, while the Badgers are ranked 237th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Eastern Mennonite). They took down Shenandoah Valley Academy 80-66 on Tuesday. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Flames as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.

Eastern Mennonite's win ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-12. As for New Covenant, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 13-6.

New Covenant couldn't quite finish off Eastern Mennonite in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 and fell 63-60. Can New Covenant avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.