Basketball Game Preview: Hampshire Trojans vs. Lewis County Minutemen

The Hampshire Trojans will head out to challenge the Lewis County Minutemen at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Hampshire is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They breezed past Robert C. Byrd to the tune of 66-30.

Meanwhile, Lewis County entered their tilt with Frankfort on Friday with five consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with six. They claimed a resounding 73-24 win over the Falcons. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 51-6.

Hampshire better focus on containing Payten Goodwin and Ella Pinkney as the pair were huge in Lewis County's win. Goodwin shot 60% from the field to rack up 18 points, while Pinkney almost dropped a double-double with ten points and nine steals. Lewis County is 10-1 when Pinkney posts five or more steals, but 4-7 otherwise. Kenzie Egress was another key player, going 5-for-9 on her way to 11 points and six rebounds.

Lewis County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 11 consecutive games.

Lewis County pushed their record up to 14-8 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.3 points over those games. As for Hampshire, they now have a winning record of 12-11.

Hampshire strolled past Lewis County in their previous meeting back in February of 2015 by a score of 57-39. Will Hampshire repeat their success, or does Lewis County have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.