Basketball Game Preview: Montour Spartans vs. Blackhawk Cougars

Montour has gone 5-0 against Blackhawk recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Montour Spartans will head out on the road to square off against the Blackhawk Cougars at 7:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Montour has seven straight wins, Blackhawk has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Tuesday, Montour beat Chartiers Valley 78-67.

Montour's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Ama Tening Sow led the charge by dropping a double-double on 19 points and 16 boards. Sow's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Colton Straight, who went 11 of 15 on his way to 29 points.

Montour smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 14 consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Blackhawk came up short against Mars on Friday, falling 74-51. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 431st, while the Fightin' Planets are ranked 170th).

Montour pushed their record up to 13-1 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.6 points per game. As for Blackhawk, their loss dropped their record down to 3-10.

Everything came up roses for Montour against Blackhawk in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, as the squad secured an 84-42 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Montour since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.