Basketball Game Preview: Newton Tigers vs. Pelahatchie Chiefs

The Newton Tigers will square off against the Pelahatchie Chiefs at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Newton is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top against Collins by a score of 64-51. Given Newton's advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 80th, while Collins is ranked 247th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pelahatchie). They blew past Wilkinson County, posting a 98-33 victory. Winning may never get old, but the Chiefs sure are getting used to it with their 11th in a row.

Newton has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 16-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.5 points over those games. As for Pelahatchie, their win bumped their record up to 25-2.

Newton strolled past Pelahatchie when the teams last played back in February of 2023 by a score of 61-43. Will Newton repeat their success, or does Pelahatchie have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.