Basketball Game Preview: Lanphier Lions vs. Manual Rams

The Lanphier Lions will square off against the Manual Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Lanphier has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Last Tuesday, Lanphier didn't have quite enough to beat Rochester and fell 42-40. The Lions haven't had much luck with the Rockets recently, as the team's come up short the last five times they've met.

Meanwhile, Manual earned a 57-44 win over Geneseo on Tuesday. Given the Rams' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 111th, while the Maple Leafs are ranked 317th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Manual's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-8. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.4 points per game. As for Lanphier, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-14.

Lanphier was able to grind out a solid win over Manual in their previous meeting back in December of 2022, winning 44-32. Does Lanphier have another victory up their sleeve, or will Manual turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.