Basketball Game Preview: Phillips Wildcats vs. Lindblom Eagles

The Phillips Wildcats will head out to take on the Lindblom Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Having struggled with three defeats in a row, Phillips turned things around against Taft on Tuesday. They walked away with a 63-56 victory over the Eagles.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Lindblom, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Saturday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Westinghouse on Tuesday, sneaking past 58-55. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 199th, while the Warriors are ranked 441st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Phillips better keep an eye on William Occomy. He was instrumental in Lindblom's win, going 6 of 15 en route to 21 points and six steals. Occomy is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Omari Kamal, who posted 14 points.

The win got Phillips back to even at 12-12. As for Lindblom, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 9-14.

Phillips was able to grind out a solid win over Lindblom in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, winning 82-75. The rematch might be a little tougher for Phillips since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.