Basketball Game Preview: Chester Hambletonians vs. Valley Central Vikings

After both having extra time off, the Chester Hambletonians and the Valley Central Vikings will shake off the cobwebs and face off against one another at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Last Wednesday, Chester came up short against Sullivan West and fell 27-18. The defeat continues a trend for the Hambletonians in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now lost four in a row.

Meanwhile, Valley Central was not able to break out of their rough patch two weeks ago as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They were five points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 35-30 heartbreaker at the hands of Warwick. While losing is never fun, the Vikings can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 325th, while the Wildcats are ranked 63rd).

Chester's defeat dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Valley Central, their loss dropped their record down to 4-6.

Chester beat Valley Central 49-41 when the teams last played back in January of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Chester since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.