Basketball Game Preview: Little Village Phoenix vs. Clemente Wildcats

The Little Village Phoenix will challenge the Clemente Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Little Village knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past four matches -- so hopefully Clemente likes a good challenge.

Last Wednesday, Little Village sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 56-53 win over Hancock. Given the Phoenix's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 266th, while the Eagles are ranked 630th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Dion Boyd Jr

Points

02/19/25 @ Hancock	14
02/11/25 vs Bowen	13
02/07/25 vs Uplift	10
02/05/25 vs Phoenix Military	8
01/28/25 vs Collins	12
+ 9 more games

Little Village found their leader in sophomore Dion Boyd Jr, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards. That's the most points Boyd Jr has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Emmanuel Resendez, who almost dropped a double-double with ten points and nine rebounds.

Meanwhile, Clemente took a blow against Collins on Thursday, falling 58-25. The Wildcats haven't had much luck with the Warriors recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.

Little Village's victory bumped their record up to 24-6. As for Clemente, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-15.

Little Village came up short against Clemente in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 73-64. Can Little Village avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.