The River Forest Ingots will square off against the South Newton Rebels at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. River Forest is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 56.5 points per game this season.
River Forest is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Kankakee Valley just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Saturday. They fell 58-46 to the Kougars. The game marked the Ingots' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
Despite the defeat, River Forest saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Christian Dejesus went 6 for 9 on his way to 12 points. Ya?Hyness Williams was another key player, putting up seven points.
Meanwhile, South Newton was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their ninth straight loss dating back to last season. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 61-53 defeat to Watseka. One positive for the Rebels, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.
River Forest will have to contain Colton Marks as he made an impact in South Newton's last game. He went 11 of 14 on his way to 28 points. With that strong performance, Marks is now averaging an impressive 17 points per game.
South Newton's loss dropped their record down to 0-8. As for River Forest, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: River Forest has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like South Newton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
River Forest took their win against South Newton in their previous matchup back in January of 2024 by a conclusive 59-39. Will River Forest repeat their success, or does South Newton have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
