The DuQuoin Indians lost against the Benton Rangers back in December of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. DuQuoin fell 54-44 to Benton. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for DuQuoin in their matchups with Benton: they've now lost four in a row.
DuQuoin lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Eli Maynor, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds. That was a full 38.6% of DuQuoin's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Trelin Smith, who scored 12 points.
DuQuoin struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
DuQuoin dropped their record down to 7-14 with that defeat, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. As for Benton, the victory (which was their sixth in a row) raised their record to 20-3.
DuQuoin won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Salem at 6:00 p.m. on January 27th. Salem is coming into the match on a four-game losing streak. As for Benton, they won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Carterville at 7:45 p.m. on January 27th. Carterville 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 258th, while Benton is ranked 43rd).
