Basketball Game Preview: Columbia Eagles vs. Belleville West Maroons

The Columbia Eagles will square off against the Belleville West Maroons at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Columbia will be looking to extend their current eight-game winning streak.

Columbia is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Salem: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Columbia blew Salem out of the water with a 76-26 final score. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 games by 23 points or more this season.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Columbia to victory, but perhaps none more so than Brody Landgraf, who posted 15 points. The contest was Landgraf's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Brady Hemminghaus, who scored 13 points.

Meanwhile, Belleville West didn't have quite enough to beat Collinsville on Friday and fell 58-55. The Maroons have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Columbia has been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 13 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.4 points per game. As for Belleville West, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-12.

Columbia couldn't quite finish off Belleville West in their previous meeting back in January of 2024 and fell 50-47. Will Columbia have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.