The Payton College Prep Grizzlies will challenge the Thornton Wildcats at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Payton College Prep took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They took their match with ease, bagging a 51-24 victory over Englewood Stem. Given the Grizzlies' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 251st, while the Panthers are ranked 650th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Thornton). They claimed a resounding 63-31 win over Thornridge. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Wildcats have posted since February 21, 2024.
Thornton's win came from a few key players Payton College Prep will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jeremy Blanco-Rios, who posted eight points along with six boards and five steals. Those five steals gave him a new career-high. Malik Holton was another key player, going 5 of 10 on his way to 12 points.
Thornton was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Thornton's win bumped their record up to 7-13. As for Payton College Prep, their victory bumped their record up to 13-10.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
