Basketball Game Preview: Winner Warriors vs. Pine Ridge Thorpes

Winner hasn't had much luck against Pine Ridge recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Warriors will challenge the Thorpes at 6:00 p.m. Winner is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.5 points per game this season.

Winner is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They strolled past St. Francis Indian with points to spare, taking the game 46-27. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Winner.

Sam Steele

Points (Career)

03/03/26 vs St. Francis Indian	21
02/23/26 vs Crow Creek	20
02/02/26 vs Gregory	20
02/10/26 @ St. Francis Indian	15
02/07/26 vs Cheyenne-Eagle Butte	15

Winner's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Sam Steele, who posted 21 points. Those 21 points gave Steele a new career-high. Jalen Tideman was another key player, dropping a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds.

Winner smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pine Ridge). They breezed past Lakota Tech to the tune of 108-30 on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Thorpes in their matchups with the Tatanka: they've now won seven in a row.

Pine Ridge's victory bumped their record up to 13-8. As for Winner, their win bumped their record up to 14-7.

Winner couldn't quite get it done against Pine Ridge in their previous meeting back in March of 2020 as they fell 57-46. Can the Warriors avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.