Preview: Gillespie Miners vs. Hillsboro Hiltoppers
Gillespie is 0-10 against Hillsboro since December of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Gillespie Miners will be playing at home against the Hillsboro Hiltoppers at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Gillespie's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last four matches.
Even though Gillespie has not done well against East Alton-Wood River recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Everything went Gillespie's way against East Alton-Wood River as Gillespie made off with a 63-43 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Gillespie has posted since December 9, 2023.
Meanwhile, Hillsboro came up short against Civic Memorial on Tuesday and fell 58-51. Hillsboro has not had much luck with Civic Memorial recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Despite the defeat, Hillsboro got a solid performance out of Jace Stewart, who scored 21 points along with five rebounds and three steals. That was a full 41.2% of Hillsboro's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Nathan Matoush was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Gillespie's victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-17. As for Hillsboro, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-16 record this season.
Gillespie and Hillsboro were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, but Gillespie came up empty-handed after a 70-69 loss. Thankfully for Gillespie, Will Christian (who scored 17 points along with seven assists and two steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
