Basketball Game Preview: Gillespie Miners vs. Staunton Bulldogs

The Gillespie Miners will face off against the Staunton Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

Gillespie is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Roxana on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Gillespie came up short against Roxana, falling 65-45. The Miners haven't had much luck with the Shells recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.

Meanwhile, Staunton had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.3 points) and they went ahead and made it seven on Saturday. They came out on top against the Shells by a score of 56-46. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Shells are ranked 324th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Gillespie's loss dropped their record down to 5-17. As for Staunton, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season.

Gillespie was taken down by Staunton 70-27 in their previous meeting back in December of 2024. Will Gillespie have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.