Preview: Hillsboro Hiltoppers vs. Litchfield Purple Panthers
Two dominant players in Nathan Matoush and Victor Mcgill are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Hillsboro Hiltoppers will take on the Litchfield Purple Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Hopefully Hillsboro focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up ten on Thursday.
Hillsboro won a close one the last time they played, but unfortunately they suffered a serious change of fortune on Thursday. They took a serious blow against Altamont, falling 66-32. Hillsboro was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 40-14.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jace Stewart, who scored ten points along with six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Matoush, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, Litchfield didn't have too much trouble with East Alton-Wood River on the road on Tuesday as they won 71-52. The win was just what Litchfield needed coming off of a 60-40 loss in their prior contest.
Tate Dobrinich continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 18 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. Aj Odle was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Hillsboro's defeat dropped their record down to 7-12. As for Litchfield, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Hillsboro hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 50 points per game. It's a different story for Litchfield, though, as they've been averaging only 62.5 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything came up roses for Hillsboro against Litchfield in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 as the team secured a 76-45 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hillsboro since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
