Basketball Game Preview: Hillcrest Academy Ravens vs. Pekin Panthers

Hillcrest Academy and Pekin are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2020, but not for long. The Hillcrest Academy Ravens will be playing at home against the Pekin Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Hillcrest Academy comes in on six and Pekin on three.

Hillcrest Academy will bounce into Tuesday's contest after beating Winfield-Mt. Union, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Hillcrest Academy came out on top against Winfield-Mt. Union by a score of 51-43 last Friday.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Pekin challenged Lone Tree on Friday. Pekin walked away with a 61-50 victory over Lone Tree.

Pekin is also on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.4 points per game. As for Hillcrest Academy, their win was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-1.

Everything came up roses for Hillcrest Academy against Pekin in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, as the squad secured a 71-39 victory. Will Hillcrest Academy repeat their success, or does Pekin have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.