Basketball Game Preview: Thornton Wildcats vs. Payton College Prep Grizzlies

The Thornton Wildcats will square off against the Payton College Prep Grizzlies at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Thornton is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by Thornridge to the tune of 63-31 on Tuesday. The Wildcats pushed the score to 55-22 by the end of the third, a deficit the Falcons cut but never quite recovered from.

Thornton's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jeremy Blanco-Rios, who posted eight points along with six rebounds and five steals. Those five steals gave Blanco-Rios a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Malik Holton, who went 5 for 10 on his way to 12 points.

Thornton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Payton College Prep, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They blew past Englewood Stem 51-24 on Thursday. Given the Grizzlies' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 251st, while the Panthers are ranked 650th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Thornton's record now sits at 7-13. As for Payton College Prep, their record is now 13-10.