The Gillespie Miners will head out on the road to square off against the Pana Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Gillespie is coming into the matchup on a four-game losing streak.
Last Tuesday, Gillespie was the victim of a rough 61-40 loss at the hands of Litchfield. Gillespie was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 36-15.
Meanwhile, Pana's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their third straight loss. The contest between them and Greenville wasn't particularly close, with Pana falling 68-49. While losing is never fun, Pana can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 541st, while Greenville is ranked 209th).
Gillespie has traveled a rocky road recently having lost 14 of their last 17 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-21 record this season. As for Pana, their loss dropped their record down to 7-20.
Gillespie took a serious blow against Pana when the teams last played back in February of 2022, falling 79-51. Thankfully for Gillespie, Brenden Schoonover (who scored 35 points along with seven steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
