Basketball Game Preview: Big Sandy Pioneers vs. North Star Knights

The Big Sandy Pioneers will head out on the road to challenge the North Star Knights at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Big Sandy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Montana's top teams: Chester-Joplin-Inverness, who was ranked 15th at the time (Big Sandy was ranked 14th). Big Sandy took a 71-63 hit to the loss column at the hands of Chester-Joplin-Inverness on Friday. The Pioneers' defeat signaled the end of their eight-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, North Star came up short against Fort Benton on Saturday and fell 47-39. The loss continues a trend for the Knights in their matchups with the Longhorns: they've now lost four in a row.

Big Sandy's defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 8-2. As for North Star, their loss dropped their record down to 6-5.

Everything came up roses for Big Sandy against North Star when the teams last played back in January, as the team secured a 71-38 victory. In that game, Big Sandy amassed a halftime lead of 33-12, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Saturday.