Preview: Frankton Eagles vs. Blackford Bruins
Frankton is 7-2 against Blackford since January of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Frankton Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the Blackford Bruins at 8:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Frankton posted their closest win yet this season on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 52-50 victory over Madison-Grant. Given Frankton's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 174th, while Madison-Grant is ranked 364th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Frankton's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Joey Wright, who scored 17 points along with three steals. Wright is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last five games he's played. Another player making a difference was Nate Moore, who scored 17 points.
Even though Blackford has not done well against Winchester Community recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. Blackford snuck past Winchester Community with a 64-59 win. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Blackford relied on the efforts of Kian Wells, who scored 17 points along with three steals, and Ethan Morris, who scored 22 points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Morris has scored all season. Gage Baker was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with three blocks.
Frankton's victory bumped their record up to 8-5. As for Blackford, they pushed their record up to 9-5 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season.
Frankton strolled past Blackford in their previous meeting back in January of 2023 by a score of 62-45. The rematch might be a little tougher for Frankton since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
