The #5 (2A) Grundy Center boys basketball team will face among its fiercest competition of the season when it travels to #6 (2A) Grand View Christian for a non-conference game Thursday.
The undefeated Spartans (19-0) will go up against the Thunder (19-1), a perennial state tournament contender that continually produces some of the state’s best talent. Head Coach Brent Thoren says it’ll be a premier matchup in Iowa.
“The only reason that they fell out of the top three is because they lost to #1 (3A) Clear Lake,” Thoren says. “But a very good team, played them last year, had a really good game with them at our place, came out on the wrong side of things last year. We have to travel to Des Moines now. It’s going to be a really good game, a really, really high quality high school basketball game. And they’ve got a lot of good players, they’re very well coached. It’s kind of one of those things where towards the back end of your season, you want those tougher challenges. You want those opportunities to see what you need to keep working on collectively as a team. Those are gonna be some really good markers for us to kind of take a look at regardless of outcome.”
The game will feature two of the more sound teams in Class 2A, with both committing among the fewest turnovers per game in the class. Three Thunder players average in double figures, led by 21.6 points per game on 63 percent shooting by Emiliano Barrantes.
The tipoff will be at 7:30 p.m. at Grand View Christian Activities Center.
