Basketball Game Preview: Grantsville Cowboys vs. Bear River Bears

Grantsville hasn't had much luck against Bear River recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Grantsville Cowboys will look to defend their home court against the Bear River Bears at 7:00 p.m. Grantsville knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past seven games -- so hopefully Bear River likes a good challenge.

Last Saturday, Grantsville got the win against Summit Academy by a conclusive 70-50. The Cowboys pushed the score to 60-37 by the end of the third, a deficit the Bears cut but never quite recovered from.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Grantsville to victory, but perhaps none more so than Bryson Roberts, who went 6 for 13 on his way to 17 points in addition to seven rebounds and six steals. Roberts' evening made it seven games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cole Sparks, who posted 11 points and four steals.

Grantsville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive rebound total in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Bear River was not able to break out of their rough patch last Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They were four points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 56-52 heartbreaker at the hands of Sky View.

Grantsville's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-5. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.0 points per game. As for Bear River, their loss dropped their record down to 4-7.

Grantsville opened the new year with a less-than-successful 63-56 defeat to Bear River. Thankfully for Grantsville, Kyver Jensen (who went 8 of 18 on his way to 17 points and five rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.