Basketball Game Preview: Smithfield Sentinels vs. Portsmouth Patriots

The Smithfield Sentinels will challenge the Portsmouth Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Smithfield is headed into Thursday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Tuesday. They took a 71-64 hit to the loss column at the hands of North Kingstown.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth fought the good fight in their overtime match against Classical on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took an 80-75 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Purple. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (57), the Patriots still had to take the loss.

This is the second loss in a row for Portsmouth and nudges their season record down to 4-2. As for Smithfield, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.

Smithfield came up short against Portsmouth in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, falling 68-64. Can Smithfield avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.