The Newton Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the Robinson Maroons at 7:15  p.m.  on Friday. Hopefully Newton is not getting complacent, as they presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Robinson in Illinois (Newton is ranked 42nd, while Robinson is ranked 402nd).
 Last Tuesday, Newton came up short against St. Anthony  and fell  50-43.
 Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought  matchup, but Robinson had to settle for a  51-48 defeat against Charleston on Tuesday. Robinson has now  taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
 Newton's loss dropped their record down to 6-2. As for Robinson, their loss was  their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which  bumped their record down to 1-8.
 Newton was able to grind out a solid  victory over Robinson in their previous meeting  back in December of 2022, winning  59-49. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Robinson's  Cooper Loll, who  dropped  a double-double on 29 points and ten  rebounds. Now that he won't be playing  on Friday, will it be that much easier for Newton to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.