The Phillips Wildcats had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They took down Brooks 73-59. Given Phillips' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 92nd, while Brooks is ranked 500th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Phillips was led to victory by 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. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Edwards has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeremiah Benjamin, who scored ten points along with two steals.
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. Another player making a difference was Kendall Shepard, who went 6 for 7 from beyond the arc en route to 18 points and 2 assists.
Even though they lost, Brooks were working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Phillips has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-8 record this season. As for Brooks, they are on a ten-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-21.
Phillips will head out on the road to take on 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. As for Brooks, they will take on Perspectives-IIT/Joslin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
