Basketball Game Preview: Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks vs. Fort Benton Longhorns

Chester-Joplin-Inverness and Fort Benton are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. The Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks will square off against the Fort Benton Longhorns at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Chester-Joplin-Inverness knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five matchups -- so hopefully Fort Benton likes a good challenge.

Last Saturday, Chester-Joplin-Inverness didn't have too much trouble with Shelby as they won 57-38. Given the Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Montana basketball rankings (they are ranked 31st, while the Coyotes are ranked 146th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Fort Benton got the win against North Star on Friday by a conclusive 67-42. The Longhorns have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 20 points or more this season.

Fort Benton is also on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.9 points per game. As for Chester-Joplin-Inverness, their win bumped their record up to 10-2.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness came up short against Fort Benton in their previous matchup back in January, falling 51-44. Can Chester-Joplin-Inverness avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.