Basketball Game Preview: Chilhowee Indians vs. Bronaugh Wildcats

The Chilhowee Indians will challenge the Bronaugh Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Last Wednesday, Chilhowee came up short against Drexel and fell 53-40. The defeat continues a trend for the Indians in their matchups with the Bobcats: they've now lost four in a row.

Meanwhile, Bronaugh suffered their biggest loss since January 14th on Tuesday. They lost 61-40 to Montrose. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Wildcats have suffered against the Blue Jays since January 7, 2022.

Chilhowee will have to contain Strauss Banes as he made an impact in Bronaugh's last game. He posted 22 points along with five assists and three steals. Banes has been hot, having posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Another player making a difference was Luke Bowling, who had 12 points.

Even though they lost, Bronaugh smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 12 consecutive matchups.

Chilhowee's loss dropped their record down to 2-12. As for Bronaugh, they have been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-12 record this season.

Chilhowee couldn't quite finish off Bronaugh when the teams last played back in December of 2024 and fell 44-42. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Banes, who went 12 for 27 on his way to 30 points and four steals. Now that Chilhowee knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.