Basketball Game Preview: Grand Island Central Catholic Crusaders vs. Lincoln Lutheran Warriors

Grand Island Central Catholic and Lincoln Lutheran are an even 5-5 against one another since November of 2017, but not for long. The Grand Island Central Catholic Crusaders will challenge the Lincoln Lutheran Warriors at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Grand Island Central Catholic is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 56.6 points per game this season.

Grand Island Central Catholic took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They snuck past Bishop Neumann with a 49-43 win. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 20th, while the Cavaliers are ranked 61st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Grand Island Central Catholic's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Thomas Liban, who went 5 for 9 en route to 10 points and six rebounds. That's the most boards Liban has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Thomas Birch, who posted ten points.

Meanwhile, Lincoln Lutheran had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.2 points) and they went ahead and made it six on Friday. They skirted past the Mustangs 53-51.

Lincoln Lutheran's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-2. As for Grand Island Central Catholic, they are also on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season.

Grand Island Central Catholic came up short against Lincoln Lutheran in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, falling 54-44. Can Grand Island Central Catholic avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.