Preview: West Prairie Cyclones vs. Barry Western Wildcats
The West Prairie Cyclones will head out on the road to face off against the Barry Western Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
On Tuesday, West Prairie came up short against Augusta Southeastern and fell 56-45. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for West Prairie in their matchups with Augusta Southeastern: they've now lost four in a row.
Despite the loss, West Prairie saw an underclassman step up: Braden Coplan scored 21 points. Coplan is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last 15 games he's played. Another player making a difference was Clayton Hunt, who scored ten points.
Meanwhile, Barry Western's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight loss. They had to suffer through a rough 66-39 loss at the hands of Pittsfield. While losing is never fun, Barry Western can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 654th, while Pittsfield is ranked 260th).
Despite their loss, Barry Western saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Mason Smith, who scored 21 points, was perhaps the best of all. Casen Tobias was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
West Prairie has been struggling recently as they've lost ten of their last 11 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-25 record this season. As for Barry Western, they dropped their record down to 5-21 with that loss, which was their sixth straight on the road.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: West Prairie haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 0.8 turnovers per game. However, it's not like Barry Western struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 1.9 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
West Prairie lost to Barry Western on the road by a decisive 47-30 margin when the teams last played back in December of 2022. Can West Prairie avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
