Basketball Game Preview: Ponaganset Chieftains vs. North Smithfield Northmen

Ponaganset and North Smithfield are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2017, but not for long. The Ponaganset Chieftains are taking a road trip to square off against the North Smithfield Northmen at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Ponaganset took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Paul Cuffee, sneaking past 63-61.

Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, North Smithfield beat Davies Career & Tech 61-57 on Thursday.

North Smithfield's win came from a few key players Ponaganset will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Sam Drolet, who posted 24 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Reilly, who earned 18 points.

Ponaganset pushed their record up to 8-4 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.3 points per game. As for North Smithfield, the victory got them back to even at 7-7.

Ponaganset came out on top in a nail-biter against North Smithfield in their previous meeting two weeks ago, sneaking past 84-81. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ponaganset since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.