Basketball Game Preview: Thornton Wildcats vs. Brooks Eagles

Two dominant guards in Dakari Nesbitt and Elijah Curl are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Thornton Wildcats will welcome the Brooks Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Thornton is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They came out on top against Agricultural Science by a score of 74-62. The Wildcats' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

Kobe Stevenson

Points

11/25/25 vs Richwoods	19
11/28/25 vs Chicago Marshall	18
02/25/26 vs Agricultural Science	17
01/16/26 vs Bloom	16
02/06/26 vs Crete-Monee	13
+ 20 more games

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Thornton to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kobe Stevenson, who went 7-for-14 en route to 17 points along with six assists and five steals. The Wildcats are 3-1 when Stevenson posts 15 or more points, but 9-13 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeremy Blanco-Rios, who shot 56% from the field on his way to 14 points and three steals.

Meanwhile, it was a Battle of the Birds when Brooks challenged Thornridge on Wednesday. The Eagles strolled past the Falcons with points to spare, taking the game 59-45.

The win snapped Thornton's losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 12-14 record. As for Brooks, their victory bumped their record up to 14-15.

Thornton didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Brooks in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, but they still walked away with a 64-60 win. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.