Even though the Deer Creek-Mackinaw Chiefs scored an imposing 56 points on Friday, the Peoria Christian Chargers still came out on top. Peoria Christian escaped with a win against the Chiefs by the margin of a single free throw, 57-56. Given Peoria Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 248th, while the Chiefs are ranked 546th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Peoria Christian got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Malachi Persinger out in front who scored 18 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Jameson Fisher, who scored 15 points along with three steals.
Peoria Christian is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-10 record this season. As for Deer Creek-Mackinaw, they have not been sharp recently as the team's lost 12 of their last 15 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-18 record this season.
Peoria Christian will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Indians at 7:30 p.m. As for Deer Creek-Mackinaw, they won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against the Boilermakers at 5:30 p.m. on February 3rd. Kewanee will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.
