Basketball Game Preview: Monticello Sages vs. PORTA/Ashland-Chandlerville Central Bluejays

The Monticello Sages will square off against the PORTA/Ashland-Chandlerville Central Bluejays at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Last Tuesday, Monticello came up short against Rantoul and fell 58-47. The Sages have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, PORTA/Ashland-Chandlerville Central came tearing into Tuesday's game with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Pretzels by a score of 52-41. Given the Bluejays' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 170th, while the Pretzels are ranked 404th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

PORTA/Ashland-Chandlerville Central pushed their record up to 20-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.3 points over those games. As for Monticello, their loss dropped their record down to 12-11.

Monticello came up short against PORTA/Ashland-Chandlerville Central when the teams last played back in February of 2023, falling 49-36. Can Monticello avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.