Basketball Game Preview: Lafayette Hornets vs. Chiefland Indians

The Lafayette Hornets and the Chiefland Indians will face off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday without much rest having both just played. Lafayette will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.

Lafayette will head into Thursday's matchup hoping to keep the good times rolling: they proved they can win big back in December of 2024 (they won by 20) and on Thursday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 43-41 victory over Dixie County. The win almost wasn't to be: the Hornets were down 34-19 in the third quarter.

Lafayette's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jordan Murphy, who posted 17 points and three steals. Murphy's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Jamarcus Smith was another key player, putting up four points and 12 rebounds.

Lafayette smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Chiefland came up short against Trenton on Thursday and fell 57-45.

Lafayette has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a massive bump to their 6-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.7 points per game. As for Chiefland, their loss dropped their record down to 8-4.

Lafayette was taken down by Chiefland 62-29 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. Can Lafayette avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.