Collinsville is 8-2 against Belleville West since February of 2020, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Collinsville Kahoks will be playing in front of their home fans against the Belleville West Maroons at 7:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Collinsville fought the good fight in their overtime match against Highland on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 62-57 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Bulldogs. It was the first time this season that Collinsville let down their fans at home.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Jamorie Wysinger, who scored 21 points along with five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Nick Horras, who scored 18 points.
Collinsville struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Belleville West entered their tilt with McCluer with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Belleville West was the clear victor by a 65-43 margin over McCluer. Given Belleville West's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 141st in Illinois, while McCluer is ranked 344th in Missouri), the result on Saturday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Belleville West to victory, but perhaps none more so than Myles Liddell, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. Brandon Scott was another key contributor, scoring 18 points.
Collinsville's loss ended a 13-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 21-3. As for Belleville West, the win got them back to even at 11-11.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Collinsville hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 62.6 points per game. However, it's not like Belleville West struggles in that department as they've been averaging 60.1 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Collinsville was able to grind out a solid win over Belleville West in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, winning 77-65. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Scott, who scored 18 points along with six assists and three steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Collinsville still be able to contain him? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
