Basketball Game Preview: Wilmington Wildcats vs. Grant Park Dragons

Wilmington is 8-2 against Grant Park since November of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Wilmington Wildcats will host the Grant Park Dragons at 11:30 a.m. The timing is sure in Wilmington's favor as the squad sits on four straight wins at home while Grant Park has been banged up by seven consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.

Wilmington will bounce into Saturday's matchup after beating Peotone, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Wilmington enjoyed a cozy 42-24 win over Peotone on Thursday. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 293rd, while the Blue Devils are ranked 602nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Wilmington's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Sami Liaromatis, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 boards. That's the most rebounds Liaromatis has posted since back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Skylar Rossow, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds.

Wilmington smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 15 consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Grant Park earned a 27-19 win over Gardner-South Wilmington on Thursday.

Wilmington has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. As for Grant Park, their victory bumped their record up to 5-7.

Wilmington was able to grind out a solid win over Grant Park in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, winning 46-33. Does Wilmington have another victory up their sleeve, or will Grant Park turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.