The Crane Medical Cougars entered their tilt with Ogden International with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. Crane Medical came out on top in a nail-biter against Ogden International on Wednesday and snuck past 66-64. Given Crane Medical's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 193rd, while Ogden International is ranked 426th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Crane Medical to victory, but perhaps none more so than LaVelle Hardy, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds. Hardy continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Brad Blackman, who scored nine points along with 12 rebounds and five blocks.
Crane Medical is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-7 record this season. As for Ogden International, their loss was their fifth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 11-12.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Crane Medical will square off against Clemente at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Ogden International will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Kaneland at 5:00 p.m. on February 14th.
