Fans at Friday's non-league challenge between the Coal City Coalers (Coal City, IL) and the visiting Gardner-South Wilmington Panthers (Gardner, IL), saw Coal City's basketball squad knock off Gardner-South Wilmington by a count of 62-51.

With the victory, Coal City upgrades its record to 6-7 on the campaign. The Coalers travel to Reed-Custer (Braidwood, IL) to play the Comets in a Illinois Central 8 challenge on Friday, January 5. The Comets come into the challenge with a record of 5-8.

Next up, the Panthers play the St. Anne Cardinals (St. Anne, IL) in a River Valley challenge, on Tuesday, January 9. Gardner-South Wilmington will attempt to upgrade on its 5-11 season record.