River Forest is 0-3 against Illiana Christian since February of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The River Forest Ingots will head out on the road to face off against the Illiana Christian Vikings at 7:00 p.m. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
River Forest's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their fourth straight loss. They fell 58-51 to Hobart. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for River Forest in their matchups with Hobart: they've now lost six in a row.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Ya'Hyness Williams, who scored 13 points along with five assists. Williams set a new season high mark in steals with two. Brandon Fergerson was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Meanwhile, Illiana Christian's 19-6 record from last season is now well into the rear view mirror after another tough outing. They took a 67-54 hit to the loss column at the hands of Griffith on Friday. While losing is never fun, Illiana Christian can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 314th, while Griffith is ranked 145th).
Andy Spoelman put forth a good effort for the losing side as he scored 15 points along with six rebounds and four blocks. Spoelman scored a full 27.8% of Illiana Christian's points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Dylan Polak, who scored ten points.
Even though they lost, Illiana Christian were working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
River Forest's defeat was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 1-4. As for Illiana Christian, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-3.
Friday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: River Forest have been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 38.2% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Illiana Christian struggles in that department as they've made 43% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
River Forest lost to Illiana Christian on the road by a decisive 56-42 margin in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. Can River Forest avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
