The Charleston Trojans were the 51-48 winner over the Centennial Chargers when they last played one another back in January of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Charleston took a 49-44 hit to the loss column at the hands of Centennial. While losing is never fun, Charleston can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 350th, while Centennial is ranked 95th).
Despite the loss, Charleston saw an underclassman step up: Tyler Oakley scored 18 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Oakley has scored all season. Alex Kuykendall was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Charleston has been struggling recently, as they've lost six of their last seven matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-13 record this season. As for Centennial, their win bumped their record up to 14-8.
Charleston will look to defend their home court on Friday against Taylorville at 7:30 p.m. Taylorville and Charleston are at an even 5-5 over their past ten head-to-heads. As for Centennial, they will head out on the road to square off against Richwoods at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Richwoods will be looking to keep their five-game home win streak alive.
