Mt. Olive hasn't had much luck against Litchfield recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Mt. Olive Wildcats will challenge the Litchfield Purple Panthers at 7:15 p.m. Litchfield took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Mt. Olive, who comes in off a win.
Back in December of 2024, Mt. Olive escaped with a win against First Baptist Academy by the margin of a single free throw, 49-48.
| 12/20/24 @ First Baptist Academy | 12 |
| 12/19/24 vs Valmeyer | 10 |
| 12/17/24 @ Dupo | 9 |
| 12/14/24 @ Pawnee | 12 |
| 12/13/24 vs Nokomis | 8 |
Matthew Bywater went supernova for Mt. Olive, dropping a double-double on 16 points and 12 boards. Bywater has been hot, having posted eight or more boards the last five times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Briley Viviano, who posted ten points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Litchfield was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. 2025 welcomed they with a 63-37 loss courtesy of Triad. While losing is never fun, the Purple Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 394th, while the Knights are ranked 77th).
Mt. Olive will have to contain Ethan Saathoff as he made an impact in Litchfield's last game. He went 5 of 9 on his way to 13 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Keenan Logan, who put up four points.
Mt. Olive's victory bumped their record up to 4-9. As for Litchfield, their loss dropped their record down to 6-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Mt. Olive has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 22.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Litchfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Mt. Olive was dealt a bruising 83-12 defeat at the hands of Litchfield when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Can Mt. Olive avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
