Basketball Game Preview: Lathrop Malemutes vs. Grace Christian Grizzlies

The Lathrop Malemutes will venture away from home to square off against the Grace Christian Grizzlies at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

On Friday, Lathrop was beaten by Mountain City Christian Academy 80-50. While losing is never fun, the Malemutes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Alaska basketball rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Lions are ranked third).

Meanwhile, Grace Christian came tearing into Friday's match with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 29.3 points), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Kardinals with a sharp 54-28 win. The Grizzlies have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 14 contests by 23 points or more this season.

Grace Christian pushed their record up to 16-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 20.3 points on average over those games. As for Lathrop, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-8.

Lathrop strolled past Grace Christian when the teams last played back in January of 2023 by a score of 58-43. Does Lathrop have another victory up their sleeve, or will Grace Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.