Basketball Game Preview: Longwood Panthers vs. Thornton Wildcats

A feisty cat fight will be fought as the Panthers duke it out with the Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Longwood will be strutting in after a win while Thornton will be coming in after a defeat.

Last Tuesday, Longwood didn't have too much trouble with Varsity Opponent as they won 53-34.

Meanwhile, Thornton was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their seventh straight loss. They took a hard 55-41 fall against Lane Tech. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 256th, while the Champions are ranked 46th).

Despite the defeat, Thornton saw an underclassman step up: freshman Deandre Higgs went 5-for-11 on his way to 12 points and seven rebounds. Kobe Stevenson was another key player, putting up six points.

Thornton's loss dropped their record down to 8-20. As for Longwood, their victory bumped their record up to 7-13.

Longwood came up short against Thornton in their previous meeting back in December of 2022, falling 55-50. Thankfully for Longwood, Vincent Rainey (who went 7-for-13 en route to 26 points and five steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.