Basketball Game Preview: Kennedy Crusaders vs. Horizon Science Academy-Southwest Huskies

The Kennedy Crusaders and the Horizon Science Academy-Southwest Huskies will compete for holiday cheer at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

On Tuesday, Kennedy might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Dunbar an easy 76-53 win. The Crusaders haven't had much luck with the Mightymen recently, as the team's come up short the last five times they've met.

Despite their defeat, Kennedy saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Joseph Dahl, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. The dominant performance also gave Dahl a new career-high in assists (seven). Jovani Naverette was another key player, dropping a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds.

Even though they lost, Kennedy was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Dunbar only posted seven assists.

Meanwhile, Horizon Science Academy-Southwest was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were beaten by IC Catholic Prep 81-31. While losing is never fun, the Huskies can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 685th, while the Knights are ranked 60th).

Horizon Science Academy-Southwest's defeat dropped their record down to 2-8. As for Kennedy, their loss dropped their record down to 3-7.

Everything came up roses for Kennedy against Horizon Science Academy-Southwest in their previous meeting back in December of 2018, as the squad secured an 85-34 victory. In that matchup, Kennedy amassed a halftime lead of 44-9, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.