Basketball Game Preview: Southwestern Piasa Birds vs. Pana Panthers

The Southwestern Piasa Birds will head out on the road to challenge the Pana Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Pana took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Southwestern, who comes in off a win.

Southwestern took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They walked away with a 44-36 victory over North Greene.

Southwestern can attribute much of their success to Ryan Lowis, who went 8 for 11 on his way to 23 points and five rebounds, and Ian Brantley, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 16 boards. Brantley has been hot recently, having posted ten or more boards the last three times he's played.

Meanwhile, Pana lost to Mattoon at home by a 53-38 margin on Tuesday. The Panthers have struggled against the Greenwave recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Pana's loss dropped their record down to 7-14. As for Southwestern, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 13-10 record this season.

Southwestern skirted past Pana 53-51 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Southwestern since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.