Basketball Game Preview: Jersey Panthers vs. Southwestern Piasa Birds

Having just played yesterday, the Jersey Panthers will get right back to it and host the Southwestern Piasa Birds at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

On Monday, Jersey had to suffer through a 61-22 loss at the hands of Triad. The defeat continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Knights: they've now lost six in a row.

Meanwhile, Southwestern beat SIUE East St. Louis Charter 48-36 back in December of 2024. Given the Piasa Birds' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 291st, while the Cougars are ranked 673rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Southwestern's win came from a few key players Jersey will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ryan Lowis, who posted 15 points and eight boards. His afternoon made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cason Robinson, who went 5 of 7 on his way to 14 points.

Southwestern has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a massive bump to their 9-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.8 points per game. As for Jersey, their loss dropped their record down to 5-13.

Jersey came up short against Southwestern when the teams last played back in November of 2024, falling 54-48. Will Jersey have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.