Basketball Game Preview: Marist Spartans vs. Henley Hornets

Marist is 0-3 against Henley since December of 2022 but things could change on Friday. The Marist Spartans will face off against the Henley Hornets at 5:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Henley will be up against a hot Marist team: the squad just extended their winning streak to four. Marist beat Cottage Grove on Wednesday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 56-28.

Meanwhile, Henley came tearing into Tuesday's game with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.1 points) and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victor by a 56-31 margin over the Pelicans. Given the Hornets' advantage in MaxPreps' Oregon basketball rankings (they are ranked 11th, while the Pelicans are ranked 131st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Henley pushed their record up to 19-2 with the victory, which was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.2 points per game. As for Marist, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season.

Marist took a serious blow against Henley in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 54-27. Can Marist avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.