Basketball Game Preview: Vienna Eagles vs. Hamilton County Foxes

The Vienna Eagles will be taking part in a tournament against the Hamilton County Foxes at 11:30 a.m. on Monday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Hamilton County will be up against a hot Vienna squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. Vienna took their matchup on Saturday with ease, bagging a 76-15 win over Goreville. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 53rd, while the Blackcats are ranked 634th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Hamilton County beat Johnston City 56-44 on Saturday.

Vienna better focus on containing Rayci Phelps and Colebie Miller as the pair were huge in Hamilton County's win. Phelps went 7 for 11 en route to 20 points along with eight boards and four steals, while Miller posted 13 points and three steals. That makes it eight consecutive games in which Phelps has scored at least a third of Hamilton County's points. Another player making a difference was Kylah Parkhill, who had five points and three steals.

Vienna's victory bumped their record up to 16-2. As for Hamilton County, their win bumped their record up to 10-8.

Vienna came up short against Hamilton County when the teams last played back in November of 2019, falling 49-37. Can Vienna avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.