Preview: Litchfield Purple Panthers vs. Hillsboro Hiltoppers
Two dominant players in Victor Mcgill and Nathan Matoush are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Litchfield Purple Panthers's road trip will continue as they head out to face the Hillsboro Hiltoppers at 5:30 p.m. on January 13th. Litchfield will be strutting in after a win while Hillsboro will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Tuesday, Litchfield didn't have too much trouble with East Alton-Wood River on the road as they won 71-52. The victory was just what Litchfield needed coming off of a 60-40 loss in their prior match.
Tate Dobrinich was his usual excellent self, 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. Another player making a difference was Aj Odle, who scored 11 points.
Hillsboro suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Thursday. They were beaten by Altamont 66-32. While losing is never fun, Hillsboro can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 550th, while Altamont is ranked 172nd).
Despite their loss, Hillsboro saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Jace Stewart, who scored ten points along with six rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Matoush, who scored 12 points.
Litchfield's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-7. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 36.33 points. As for Hillsboro, their loss dropped their record down to 7-12.
Saturday's game is shaping up to be a blowout: Litchfield hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 62.5 points per game. It's a different story for Hillsboro, though, as they've been averaging only 50 points per game. The only thing between Litchfield and another offensive beatdown is Hillsboro. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Litchfield was taken down by Hillsboro 76-45 in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. Thankfully for Litchfield, Will Christian (who scored 25 points along with five assists and five 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.
