The Brooks Eagles's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their tenth straight loss. They took a hard 73-59 fall against Phillips. While losing is never fun, Brooks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 500th, while Phillips is ranked 92nd).
Brooks' loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jacob Johnson, who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds. That's the first time this season that Johnson scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kendall Shepard, who went 6 for 7 from beyond the arc en route to 18 points and 2 assists.
Leading Phillips to victory were Lawrence Horton and Amari Edwards. Horton scored 16 points along with seven rebounds and four steals, while Edwards scored 26 points along with four steals. Horton has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jeremiah Benjamin, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Brooks has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost 11 of their last 12 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-21 record this season. As for Phillips, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 14-8.
Brooks will face off against Perspectives-IIT/Joslin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. As for Phillips, they will head out on the road to face off against Lake Forest Academy at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Lake Forest Academy is out to stop a three-game streak of losses at home.
