Basketball Recap: Granite City Comes Up Short

Granite City lost against Mater Dei back in February of 2024, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. The Granite City Warriors fell 46-39 to the Mater Dei Knights. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 417th in Illinois, while the Knights are ranked 95th in Illinois).

Evan Brewer

Points

02/20/25 vs Mater Dei	20
02/14/25 vs Gibault Catholic	16
02/07/25 @ Alton	10
02/04/25 vs Gateway Legacy Christian Academy	7
01/30/25 @ Belleville East	15
+ 25 more games

When it comes to explaining why Granite City lost, don't look at Evan Brewer. Despite the final result, he went 8-for-11 on his way to 20 points and six rebounds. Brewer continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Antonio Dean, who posted ten points and three steals.

Leading Mater Dei to victory were Gavin Peppenhorst and Luke Brefeld. Peppenhorst dropped a double-double with 12 points and ten boards, while Brefeld went 5-for-7 to rack up 13 points. Brefeld is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last six games he's played. Elliott Rakers was another key player, putting up nine points.

Granite City has traveled a rocky road recently having lost nine of their last ten matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 9-21 record this season. Mater Dei is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-9 record this season.

Granite City didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 71-57 loss against Lift for Life Academy on the 21st. As for Mater Dei, they have also already played their next matchup, a 51-48 defeat against Nashville on the 24th.