Basketball Game Preview: Gibault Catholic Hawks vs. Mater Dei Knights

Gibault Catholic hasn't had much luck against Mater Dei recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The two teams will round out the year against one another at at 7:00 p.m.

Gibault Catholic is headed into Thursday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fifth straight game on Saturday. They fell 55-47 to Father McGivney Catholic.

Meanwhile, Mater Dei came into Friday's matchup having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They walked away with a 59-50 win over Gibault Catholic on Friday. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 167th, while the Hawks are ranked 484th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Gibault Catholic better keep an eye on Elliott Rakers. He was instrumental in Mater Dei's win, dropping a double-double on 20 points and ten boards. The dominant performance gave Rakers a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jared Hemker, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 10 points.

The victory got Mater Dei back to even at 6-6. As for Gibault Catholic, their loss dropped their record down to 2-7.

Gibault Catholic came up short against Mater Dei in their previous meeting on Friday, falling 59-50. Can Gibault Catholic avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.