Basketball Game Preview: Astoria/VIT Rebels vs. Illini West Chargers

The Astoria/VIT Rebels will head out on the road to square off against the Illini West Chargers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Astoria/VIT is looking for their season's first win.

Last Friday, Astoria/VIT came up short against Illini Central and fell 58-45.

Meanwhile, Illini West was able to grind out a solid victory over Mercer County on Saturday, taking the game 48-36.

Astoria/VIT better keep an eye on Wesley Robertson. He was instrumental in Illini West's win, going 10 for 14 on his way to 21 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals. Robertson is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Carlisle, who posted eight points and six assists.

Illini West was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Astoria/VIT's defeat dropped their record down to 0-7. As for Illini West, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season.

Things could have been worse for Astoria/VIT, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 59-44 loss to Illini West in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. Thankfully for Astoria/VIT, Haydon Rankin (who went 9 of 10 on his way to 19 points and seven rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.