Basketball Game Preview: Hillsboro Hiltoppers vs. Litchfield Purple Panthers

The Hillsboro Hiltoppers will take on the Litchfield Purple Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Hillsboro is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.3 points per game this season.

Hillsboro is headed into Thursday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Tuesday. They were four points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 60-56 heartbreaker at the hands of Greenville.

Despite the defeat, Hillsboro got top-tier performance from Nathan Matoush, who almost dropped a double-double on 30 points and nine boards. That was a full 53.6% of Hillsboro's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Tony White, who went 7 of 11 on his way to 15 points.

Meanwhile, Litchfield ended up a good deal behind Civic Memorial on Tuesday and lost 67-53. While losing is never fun, the Purple Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 380th, while the Eagles are ranked 170th).

Hillsboro now has a losing record at 9-10. As for Litchfield, they have been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last nine matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-12 record this season.

Hillsboro suffered a grim 61-36 defeat to Litchfield in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Can Hillsboro avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.