Basketball Game Preview: Wayne City Indians vs. Edwards County Lions

Wayne City and Edwards County are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Wayne City Indians will square off against the Edwards County Lions at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

Wayne City is headed into the match having just suffered their biggest loss since February 19, 2024 on Tuesday. They lost 63-43 to Webber. While losing is never fun, the Indians can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 541st, while the Trojans are ranked 183rd).

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Rhyver Tibbs, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Peyton Harrison, who posted ten points and four steals.

Even though they lost, Wayne City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Edwards County hadn't done well against Flora recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Edwards County walked away with a 41-34 victory over Flora. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Lions.

Edwards County has also been performing well recently as they've won 12 of their last 15 games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season. As for Wayne City, they have also been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-12 record this season.

Wayne City didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Edwards County in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, but they still walked away with a 53-47 win. Will Wayne City repeat their success, or does Edwards County have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.