Basketball Recap: Belleville East Comes Up Short

Belleville East was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. The game between them and the East St. Louis Flyers didn't end well, with the Belleville East Lancers falling 63-45. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Lancers came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 36th, while the Flyers are ranked 157th).

East St. Louis' victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Alex Johnson, who went 9 for 17 on his way to 25 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals. Johnson is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ishaia Brown, who posted two points along with 24 boards and three steals.

Belleville East's loss dropped their record down to 11-5. As for East St. Louis, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-10.

Belleville East is taking a road trip to take on Collinsville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Collinsville is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55 points per game this season. As for East St. Louis, they will take on DeKalb at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. DeKalb will roll in looking for their fourth straight victory, something East St. Louis surely won't give up without a fight.