Basketball Game Preview: Carterville Lions vs. Hamilton County Foxes

Carterville is 4-0 against Hamilton County since December of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. Both will face off at 10:30 a.m. without much rest having both just played. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with five consecutive losses for Carterville and three for Hamilton County.

Carterville saw some tournament action on Friday. They were beaten by Vienna 68-25. While losing is never fun, the Lions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 431st, while the Eagles are ranked 34th).

Despite the loss, Carterville had strong showings from Layla Yates, who posted six points, and Kennedy Diel, who earned no points. That's the most points Yates has posted since back in January.

Meanwhile, Hamilton County suffered their biggest defeat since January 22nd on Friday. They came up short against Carbondale, falling 59-38.

Carterville's loss dropped their record down to 3-10. As for Hamilton County, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-5.

Carterville was able to grind out a solid win over Hamilton County when the teams last played back in February, winning 59-52. The rematch might be a little tougher for Carterville since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.