The Freeport Pretzels will challenge the Central Rockets at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Freeport is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.6 points per game this season.
Freeport is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Rockford East on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Freeport was dealt a 78-38 loss at the hands of Rockford East. The Pretzels were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 42-13.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Deklyn Rustad, who posted 11 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Seward, who earned seven points.
Even though they lost, Freeport smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Central beat Huntley 54-48 on Friday. Given the Rockets' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 116th, while the Red Raiders are ranked 261st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Freeport better keep an eye on Caden West. He was instrumental in Central's win, going 10 of 17 on his way to 26 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. The dominant performance gave West a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Patrick Shell, who went 7 of 16 on his way to 15 points.
Central is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. As for Freeport, they dropped their record down to 7-10 with the defeat, which was their third straight on the road.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Freeport has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Freeport and Central were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but Freeport came up empty-handed after a 47-46 loss. Thankfully for Freeport, Myles Lowe (who went 8 of 14 on his way to 16 points in addition to six boards and four steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
