Basketball Game Preview: Chicago Marshall Commandos vs. Dyett Eagles

Two dominant guards in Darrin Laye and Aramis Brown Jr are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Chicago Marshall Commandos will take on the Dyett Eagles in a holiday battle at at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Last Tuesday, Chicago Marshall came up short against Perspectives Leadership/Technology and fell 70-58. While losing is never fun, the Commandos can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 278th, while the Warriors are ranked 83rd).

Chicago Marshall's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Laye, who went 5 of 11 en route to 12 points along with six boards and five steals, and Ricky Stanciel, who posted 15 points and eight rebounds. The dominant performance gave Stanciel a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Britt Williams, who put up seven points.

Even though they lost, Chicago Marshall smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in three consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Dyett came tearing into Tuesday's game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 29.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They snuck past the Phoenix with a 64-60 win.

Dyett pushed their record up to 7-1 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.1 points per game. As for Chicago Marshall, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-3.