Basketball Game Preview: Kenai Central Kardinals vs. Grace Christian Grizzlies

Kenai Central hasn't had much luck against Grace Christian recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. Having just played yesterday, the Kenai Central Kardinals will jump right back in to play the Grace Christian Grizzlies at 4:45 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Kenai Central is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They snuck past Valdez with a 43-39 victory. The Kardinals haven't had any issues with the Buccaneers recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Meanwhile, Grace Christian came tearing into Wednesday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 33.8 points), and they left with even more momentum. They breezed past the Wolves to the tune of 60-29. Given the Grizzlies' advantage in MaxPreps' Alaska basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while the Wolves are ranked 51st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Kenai Central's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-10. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.0 points over those games. As for Grace Christian, their win bumped their record up to 20-5.

Kenai Central was dealt a bruising 59-23 loss at the hands of Grace Christian in their previous matchup two weeks ago. Can Kenai Central avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.