The Oak Grove Grizzlies will venture away from home to square off against the Montgomery Central Timberwolves at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Oak Grove has three straight wins, Montgomery Central has 26 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Last Thursday, Oak Grove beat North Davidson 73-60. Given the Grizzlies' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 149th, while the Black Knights are ranked 366th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/09/25 @ North Davidson | 26 |
| 01/07/25 @ Asheboro | 20 |
| 12/28/24 vs Lexington | 38 |
| 12/27/24 @ Robinson | 29 |
| 12/26/24 vs Wheatmore | 19 |
Oak Grove had a senior duo take command as Max Hurt dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds and Loucas Shoaf went 9 of 14 on his way to 26 points. The game was Shoaf's 14th in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tristan Nunez, who posted ten points.
Oak Grove was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Davidson only racked up seven assists.
Meanwhile, Montgomery Central played a tough matchup on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were beaten by North Davidson 79-41. The Timberwolves were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 48-24.
Oak Grove will need focus on slowing down Christopher Curtis, one of several Montgomery Central players who made an impact when they last played. He went 5 of 7 on his way to 14 points and seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Trey Myrick, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds.
Montgomery Central's defeat dropped their record down to 0-13. As for Oak Grove, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Oak Grove has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Montgomery Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Oak Grove strolled past Montgomery Central when the teams last played back in February of 2024 by a score of 65-47. Will Oak Grove repeat their success, or does Montgomery Central have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
