Basketball Game Preview: New Athens Yellow Jackets vs. Gibault Catholic Hawks

New Athens hasn't had much luck against Gibault Catholic recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The New Athens Yellow Jackets will challenge the Gibault Catholic Hawks at 5:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

New Athens faced off against Chester. in a bug-themed battle on Wednesday. New Athens took a 50-37 hit to the loss column at the hands of Chester. The matchup marked the Yellow Jackets' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Meanwhile, Gibault Catholic was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Thursday as they fell 52-46 to Sparta. While losing is never fun, the Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 493rd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 158th).

Gibault Catholic has traveled a rocky road recently having lost ten of their last 12 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-12 record this season. As for New Athens, their loss dropped their record down to 11-5.

New Athens was able to grind out a solid victory over Gibault Catholic in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, winning 61-53. The rematch might be a little tougher for New Athens since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.