Basketball Game Preview: Mt. Zion Braves vs. Lincoln Railsplitters

The Mt. Zion Braves will challenge the Lincoln Railsplitters at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in Mt. Zion's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last ten matchups.

Mt. Zion is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 66-45 margin over Mahomet-Seymour. The victory continues a trend for the Braves in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won eight in a row.

Meanwhile, Lincoln didn't have too much trouble with Taylorville on Friday as they won 38-23. Given the Railsplitters' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 70th, while the Tornadoes are ranked 279th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Lincoln's win came from a few key players Mt. Zion will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Karson Komnick, who went 5-for-10 on his way to 19 points. Another player making a difference was Drew Hayes, who posted seven points and five steals.

Mt. Zion pushed their record up to 24-9 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.3 points over those games. As for Lincoln, they are on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 15 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 23-10 record this season.

Mt. Zion strolled past Lincoln in their previous meeting back in November of 2023 by a score of 39-25. Does Mt. Zion have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lincoln turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.