Basketball Game Preview: O'Fallon Panthers vs. Columbia Eagles

The O'Fallon Panthers will face off against the Columbia Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The timing isn't great for O'Fallon: they have been struggling with seven straight losses at home, while Columbia has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road.

On Tuesday, O'Fallon came up short against Alton and fell 46-39. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 215th, while the Redbirds are ranked 29th).

Meanwhile, Columbia was able to grind out a solid win over Belleville West on Saturday, taking the game 59-47.

O'Fallon better keep an eye on Sam Donald. He was instrumental in Columbia's win, putting up 24 points. Micah James was another key player, posting 11 points.

Columbia has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.2 points per game. As for O'Fallon, their loss dropped their record down to 7-17.