The Grant Park Dragons were the 59-46 winner over the Clifton Central Comets when they last played one another back in February of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Grant Park took a hard 62-46 fall against Clifton Central on Wednesday. Grant Park's loss continues an unfortunate trend for the team, making it three in a row.
When it comes to explaining why Grant Park lost, one person who can't be blamed is Blake Brown. Despite the final result, he scored 22 points along with four steals. That was a full 47.8% of Grant Park's points, marking the tenth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Kaack, who scored eight points.
Clifton Central found their leader in underclassman Blake Chandler, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Chandler is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Perry Mason, who scored nine points.
Grant Park's defeat was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 5-11. As for Clifton Central, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season.
Grant Park will be playing in front of their home fans against Gardner-South Wilmington at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Illinois (Gardner-South Wilmington is ranked 639th, while Grant Park is ranked 661st). As for Clifton Central, they will head out on the road to challenge Beecher at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Beecher will be coming into the game with an undefeated record on the line.
