Basketball Recap: Midwest Central Finds Home Court Redemption Against Illini Bluffs + How To Watch

There's no place like home for Midwest Central, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 56-53 victory over the Illini Bluffs Tigers on Friday. For the Raiders, this counts as revenge for the 62-27 win the Tigers walked away with the last time they faced one another back in December of 2024.

Malachi Carroll was nothing short of spectacular: he shot 63% from the field to rack up 25 points and three steals. Another player making a difference was Josh Dawe, who posted ten points in addition to eight assists and eight boards.

Raiders

Previous 4 Games (Home)

12/05/25 vs Illini Bluffs	56-53
02/24/25 vs Hartsburg-Emden	66-57
02/21/25 vs Lewistown	48-47
02/14/25 vs Varsity Opponent	58-48

Midwest Central pushed their record up to 2-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points over those games. As for Illini Bluffs, their defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 1-4.

Midwest Central didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 65-55 victory against Astoria/VIT on the 9th. Illini Bluffs has also already played their next contest (against Cuba/Spoon River Valley), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.