Basketball Game Preview: Pine Ridge Thorpes vs. Sioux Valley Cossacks

The Pine Ridge Thorpes will challenge the Sioux Valley Cossacks at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Pine Ridge is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 64.2 points per game this season.

Pine Ridge is headed out in good spirits considering the team just ended their winless streak on the road against Hot Springs last Friday. Pine Ridge strolled past Hot Springs with points to spare, taking the game 69-52. Given the Thorpes' advantage in MaxPreps' South Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked 26th, while the Bison are ranked 121st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Marvin Richard Lll and Anthony Steele were among the main playmakers for Pine Ridge as the former went 11 of 22 on his way to 29 points in addition to five boards and three steals and the latter went 8 for 20 en route to 24 points along with eight assists and four steals. Richard Lll's evening made it 13 games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Caleb Black Feather was another key player, putting up five points.

Meanwhile, Sioux Valley was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 52-47 to McCook Central/Montrose. The Cossacks have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Pine Ridge now has a winning record of 7-6. As for Sioux Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 4-4.

Things could have been worse for Pine Ridge, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 69-51 loss to Sioux Valley when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can Pine Ridge avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.