The Bloomington Purple Raiders will head out on the road to challenge the Champaign Central Maroons at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Bloomington comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
Bloomington suffered their biggest defeat since December 21, 2023 on Saturday. They were dealt a 64-30 defeat at the hands of Lake Park. Bloomington was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-14.
The losing side was boosted by Evan Reed, who scored four points along with five assists and two steals. Another player making a difference was Carter Tindall, who scored eight points.
Meanwhile, Champaign Central took a serious blow against MacArthur on Tuesday, falling 77-43. While losing is never fun, Champaign Central can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 220th, while MacArthur is ranked 21st).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Aidyn Beck, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and three blocks. That's the first time this season that he posted two or more blocks. Malachi Nichols was another key contributor, scoring six points along with seven rebounds.
Bloomington dropped their record down to 0-19 with that defeat, which was their tenth straight on the road. As for Champaign Central, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost eight of their last nine games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-14 record this season.
Bloomington was able to grind out a solid win over Champaign Central in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, winning 69-56. The rematch might be a little tougher for Bloomington since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
