Basketball Game Preview: Kennedy Crusaders vs. Julian Jaguars

The Kennedy Crusaders will take on the Julian Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Kennedy has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with six straight losses, while Julian will come in with three straight victories.

Last Thursday, Kennedy came up short against Brooks and fell 55-46. While losing is never fun, the Crusaders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 662nd, while the Eagles are ranked 300th).

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Joseph Dahl, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 13 boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jovani Naverette, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 14 points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, Julian earned a 54-43 win over Harlan on Thursday.

Julian has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-7 record this season. As for Kennedy, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 4-13.