Basketball Game Preview: Gibault Catholic Hawks vs. Columbia Eagles

Gibault Catholic hasn't had much luck against Columbia recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. It'll be a Battle of the Birds when the Gibault Catholic Hawks challenge the Columbia Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Gibault Catholic is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They skirted past New Athens 66-63. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Hawks have posted since January 27, 2024.

Meanwhile, Columbia waltzed into their contest on Saturday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They claimed a resounding 77-49 win over the Comanches. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while the Comanches are ranked 209th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Gibault Catholic better focus on containing Sam Donald and Brody Landgraf as the pair were huge in Columbia's win. Donald posted 25 points, while Landgraf put up 20 points. That's the most points Landgraf has posted since back in November of 2023. River Randall was another key player, putting up 11 points.

Columbia pushed their record up to 14-4 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.0 points per game. As for Gibault Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 5-12.

Gibault Catholic might still be hurting after the 57-37 loss they got from Columbia in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Donald, who went 11 for 18 on his way to 24 points and five rebounds. Now that Gibault Catholic knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.