Basketball Game Preview: Lexington Minutemen vs. Grand Island Central Catholic Crusaders

Lexington hasn't had much luck against Grand Island Central Catholic recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Lexington Minutemen are taking a road trip to take on the Grand Island Central Catholic Crusaders at 7:30 p.m.

On Tuesday, Lexington came up short against Broken Bow and fell 56-47. The Minutemen have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Grand Island Central Catholic faced Lincoln Lutheran in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. Grand Island Central Catholic escaped with a win against Lincoln Lutheran by the margin of a single free throw, 46-45. The win was nothing new for the Crusaders as they're now sitting on three straight.

Lexington better focus on containing Braylon Wolfe and Thomas Birch as the pair were huge in Grand Island Central Catholic's win. Wolfe went 5 of 10 on his way to 19 points, while Birch posted eight points. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Haney, who earned six points and five rebounds.

Grand Island Central Catholic was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lincoln Lutheran only posted six assists.

Grand Island Central Catholic's victory bumped their record up to 15-3. As for Lexington, their loss dropped their record down to 2-16.

Lexington was dealt a bruising 52-25 defeat at the hands of Grand Island Central Catholic when the teams last played back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Birch, who went 5 for 6 en route to 18 points and six boards. Now that Lexington knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.