Basketball Game Preview: Thompson Tommies vs. Fertile-Beltrami Falcons

Thompson has won five straight games at home, while Fertile-Beltrami has won five straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Thompson Tommies will welcome the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons at 7:00 p.m. Both are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.

Thompson is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Tuesday as they easily beat Oak Grove Lutheran 85-52. Given the Tommies' advantage in MaxPreps' North Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while the Grovers are ranked 83rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Thompson's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Gavin Krogstad, who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine boards. The matchup was Krogstad's third in a row with at least ten points. Karter Peterson was another key player, going 7 of 10 on his way to 18 points and six rebounds.

Thompson smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Fertile-Beltrami was fully in charge on Tuesday, breezing past Polk County West [Climax/Fisher] 86-50. The Falcons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 22 points or more this season.

Thompson is also on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.6 points per game. As for Fertile-Beltrami, their victory bumped their record up to 17-4.