Basketball Game Preview: Mather Rangers vs. Francis W. Parker Colonels

Two dominant guards in Adin Smajlovic and Miles Johnson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Mather Rangers will be playing at home against the Francis W. Parker Colonels at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses apiece.

Last Tuesday, Mather came up short against Jones and fell 64-51.

The losing side was boosted by Jeremiah Chalwe, who posted 17 points. Smajlovic was another key player, putting up 13 points.

Meanwhile, Francis W. Parker ended up a good deal behind Northridge on Friday and lost 61-45. While losing is never fun, the Colonels can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 341st, while the Knights are ranked 113th).

Francis W. Parker's defeat dropped their record down to 11-10. As for Mather, their loss dropped their record down to 8-13.

Mather didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Francis W. Parker when the teams last played back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 64-58 victory. Does Mather have another victory up their sleeve, or will Francis W. Parker turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.