Basketball Game Preview: Clifton Central Comets vs. Manteno Panthers

The Clifton Central Comets and the Manteno Panthers will face off at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday without much rest having both just played. Clifton Central is coming into the game hot, having won their last six games.

On Monday, everything came up roses for Clifton Central against Gardner-South Wilmington as the squad secured a 63-19 victory. The Comets have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 23 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Manteno strolled past Reed-Custer with points to spare on Monday, taking the game 48-29. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 216th, while the Comets are ranked 480th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Clifton Central is also on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.6 points per game. As for Manteno, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 18-4.

Clifton Central couldn't quite finish off Manteno when the teams last played back in January of 2023 and fell 48-46. Thankfully for Clifton Central, Kylie Saathoff (who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.