Basketball Game Preview: North Smithfield Northmen vs. Prout Crusaders

North Smithfield and Prout are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2016, but not for long. The North Smithfield Northmen will square off against the Prout Crusaders at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. North Smithfield is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 59.5 points per game this season.

North Smithfield is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Toll Gate just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 59-53 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Titans.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Connor Reilly, who posted 20 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Sam Drolet, who earned 12 points.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Prout). Everything went their way against Central Falls on Friday as Prout made off with an 88-66 win. The Crusaders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 21 points or more this season.

Prout has also been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.9 points per game. As for North Smithfield, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-6.

Everything went North Smithfield's way against Prout in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, as North Smithfield made off with a 76-52 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Smithfield since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.