The Illinois Lutheran Chargers will head out on the road to take on the Donovan Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Illinois Lutheran is no doubt hoping to put an end to a 16-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Last Tuesday, Illinois Lutheran took a serious blow against Families of Faith Christian Academy, falling 72-37.
The losing side was boosted by Tristan Biesterfeld, who scored 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaden Walls, who scored seven points.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up eight more assists than your opponent, a fact Donovan proved on Wednesday. They walked away with a 47-34 victory over South Newton. The squad ran away with 35 points in the first half and mostly just sat on those to pick up the win.
Donovan relied on the efforts of Griffen Walters, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds, and Braden Klecan, who scored 16 points. Another player making a difference was Ty Miller, who scored five points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Illinois Lutheran has been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-18 record this season. As for Donovan, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-14.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Illinois Lutheran have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Donovan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Illinois Lutheran came up short against Donovan when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 54-42. Can Illinois Lutheran avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
