Basketball Game Preview: Mesabi East Giants vs. Cloquet Lumberjacks

The Mesabi East Giants will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Cloquet Lumberjacks at 6:15 p.m. on Friday. Mesabi East will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.

Last Thursday, Mesabi East got the win against International Falls by a conclusive 57-31. Given the Giants' advantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 173rd, while the Broncos are ranked 347th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, the third road contest was the charm for Cloquet, as they earned their first road win of the season. They took down Grand Rapids 61-45 on Thursday. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Lumberjacks as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.

Cloquet's win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 3-6. As for Mesabi East, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2.

Mesabi East beat Cloquet 48-41 when the teams last played back in December of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mesabi East since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.