Basketball Game Preview: Jefferson J-Hawks vs. Rockford East E-Rabs

The Jefferson J-Hawks will venture away from home to face off against the Rockford East E-Rabs at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.

On Wednesday, Jefferson didn't have quite enough to beat Freeport and fell 55-53. The defeat continues a trend for the J-Hawks in their matchups with the Pretzels: they've now lost seven in a row.

Meanwhile, Rockford East had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 38.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They took their game with ease, bagging a 71-37 win over the Bucs. The match was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the E-Rabs had established a 30 point advantage.

Rockford East's win came from a few key players Jefferson will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Brian Harper, who posted 13 points in addition to five assists and five rebounds. He has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Tarion McFadden-Leach, who went 6 for 11 on his way to 20 points.

Jefferson's loss dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Rockford East, their victory bumped their record up to 4-2.

Jefferson didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Rockford East in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 55-49 win. Will Jefferson repeat their success, or does Rockford East have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.