Basketball Game Preview: Rowe-Clark Masai Lions vs. Hansberry Bengals

The Rowe-Clark Masai Lions will venture away from home to square off against the Hansberry Bengals at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both have had a bumpy ride up to this point with five consecutive losses dating back to last season for Rowe-Clark and four for Hansberry.

Rowe-Clark is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took a 61-54 hit to the loss column at the hands of Comer back in December of 2024.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Akeem Sheppard, who went 6 of 13 on his way to 17 points along with seven boards and three steals. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Marcus Fossett, who posted 16 points in addition to six boards and five steals.

Meanwhile, Hansberry took a blow against Butler on Monday, falling 88-43. While losing is never fun, the Bengals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 625th, while the Lynx are ranked 277th).

Rowe-Clark's loss dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Hansberry, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-9.

Things could have been worse for Rowe-Clark, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 72-57 loss to Hansberry in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Can Rowe-Clark avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.