Basketball Recap: Dariontez Monroe's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Sparta over Murphysboro

Sparta has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 56-46 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Murphysboro Red Devils on Friday. Sadly, that's the second time they've come up short against the Bulldogs this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 87-30 back in December of 2024.

Several Bulldogs players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Dariontez Monroe, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 18 points and seven boards. Jake Wesbecher was another key player, putting up 11 points and five rebounds.

Sparta's loss dropped their record down to 13-6. As for Murphysboro, the victory was the seventh in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 16-2.

Sparta didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 76-64 win against Steeleville on the 25th. As for Murphysboro, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 58-49 defeat against Pinckneyville on the 25th.