Sparta is 1-6 against Murphysboro since December of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Sparta Bulldogs will take on the Murphysboro Red Devils at 8:30 p.m.
Sparta's tournament run continued when they took on Marissa/Coulterville on Wednesday. Sparta fell to Marissa/Coulterville 63-57.
Despite their loss, Sparta saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. DJ Hayes, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 12 points, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Jake Wesbecher, who posted eight points.
Meanwhile, Murphysboro had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19.4 points) and they went ahead and made it six on Wednesday. They walked away with a 48-37 win over the Midgets. Given the Red Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 51st, while the Midgets are ranked 401st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Sparta's defeat ended an eight-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 13-5. As for Murphysboro, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-2 record this season.
Sparta took a serious blow against Murphysboro in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, falling 87-30. Can Sparta avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
