Basketball Game Preview: Southwestern Piasa Birds vs. East Alton-Wood River Oilers

The Southwestern Piasa Birds will head out to challenge the East Alton-Wood River Oilers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Last Friday, Southwestern didn't have quite enough to beat Pana and fell 43-41.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Ryan Lowis, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 13 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ian Brantley, who posted 12 points along with eight rebounds and five blocks.

Meanwhile, East Alton-Wood River was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were beaten by Freeburg 65-36.

Southwestern's loss dropped their record down to 13-11. As for East Alton-Wood River, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-21.

Southwestern barely slipped by East Alton-Wood River when the teams last played back in February of 2024, winning 47-46. The rematch might be a little tougher for Southwestern since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.