Preview: Rauner Wildcats vs. Rowe-Clark Masai Lions
Two dominant forwards in Yahweh Anderson and Jurrel Buford are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Rauner Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Rowe-Clark Masai Lions at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Rauner is looking to tack on another W to their ten-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
On Wednesday, Rauner strolled past UIC College Prep with points to spare, taking the game 49-32. The victory was just what Rauner needed coming off of a 69-41 defeat in their prior match.
Meanwhile, Rowe-Clark pushed their score all the way to 61 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Hansberry an easy 83-61 victory. While losing is never fun, Rowe-Clark can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 712th, while Hansberry is ranked 298th).
The losing side was boosted by Arnez Jones, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 12 rebounds. He scored a full 37.7% of Rowe-Clark's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Marcus Fossett was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with three steals.
Even though they lost, Rowe-Clark were working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Rauner's win bumped their record up to 5-2. As for Rowe-Clark, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-6.
Rauner strolled past Rowe-Clark when the teams last played back in February of 2022 by a score of 51-36. Will Rauner repeat their success, or does Rowe-Clark have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
