Two dominant guards in Jayden Riley and Phoenix Childs are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Yorkville Christian Mustangs will face off against the Perspectives Leadership/Technology Warriors at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Yorkville Christian knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 15 games -- so hopefully Perspectives Leadership/Technology likes a good challenge.
Yorkville Christian is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Niles North just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Wednesday. They came up short against the Vikings, falling 102-77. While losing is never fun, the Mustangs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 169th, while the Vikings are ranked 29th).
Despite the defeat, Yorkville Christian got top-tier performance from Riley, who went 12 of 20 on his way to 30 points and seven assists. Tray Alford was another key player, putting up 17 points.
Meanwhile, Perspectives Leadership/Technology entered their tilt with Northside on Thursday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They took down the Mustangs 70-55.
Perspectives Leadership/Technology's win came from a few key players Yorkville Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Derrick Dowdell Jr, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds. Those ten boards gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Lamar Murphy, who posted 11 points along with five assists and three steals.
Riley wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Perspectives Leadership/Technology was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Perspectives Leadership/Technology is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.6 points per game. As for Yorkville Christian, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 16-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Yorkville Christian has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Perspectives Leadership/Technology struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
