It was a good run, but the Hoopeston Cornjerkers unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Saturday. They fell 56-44 to Clifton Central. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Hoopeston in their matchups with Clifton Central: they've now lost three in a row.
Several Cornjerkers players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Owen Root, who scored 11 points along with 6 rebounds. The contest was Root's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Wyatt Eisenman was another key contributor, scoring 10 points along with 3 steals.
Clifton Central was led to victory by Perry Mason and Aidan Podowicz. Mason scored 14 points, while Podowicz scored 12 points along with 5 steals. Podowicz hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Blake Chandler, who scored 14 points.
Hoopeston's loss dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Clifton Central, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-1.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Hoopeston will take on Paxton-Buckley-Loda at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Clifton Central, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Gardner-South Wilmington at 7:00 p.m. Gardner-South Wilmington will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings (they are ranked 494th, while Clifton Central is ranked 221st).
