The Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs are taking a road trip to take on the Beech Grove Hornets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Franklin Community is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.3 points per game this season.
Last Saturday, Franklin Community ended up a good deal behind Columbus East and lost 64-50. While losing is never fun, the Grizzly Cubs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 129th, while the Olympians are ranked 11th).
Despite the loss, Franklin Community got top-tier performance from Kolt Nelson, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds. Nelson continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Tony Barnes, who posted eight points.
Even though they lost, Franklin Community smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Beech Grove was just a bucket shy of victory on Thursday and fell 62-61 to Covenant Christian.
Franklin Community will have to contain Tyris Reid as he made an impact in Beech Grove's last game. He went 6 of 10 on his way to 20 points in addition to seven assists and three steals. Those seven assists gave Reid a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Bishop Moore, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 11 points along with five boards and three steals.
Beech Grove now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Franklin Community, they now have a losing record at 3-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Franklin Community has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Beech Grove struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Franklin Community against Beech Grove when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as the squad secured a 78-28 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Franklin Community since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
