CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Lately the Champaign Swarm have been doing a high wire act.
The Swarm have fallen behind by deficits of 16, 21 and 18 in their last three games but won two of them and pulled within two points in their one loss.
Perhaps facing the Chicago Force will bring them back to ground when they tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Parkland College. When Champaign last played Chicago on Feb. 5, they never trailed and had their highest scoring output of the season in a 130-102 victory.
But the Swarm (7-2) will be short-handed Thursday night. Top scorer and rebounder Arnold Louis has departed for Colombia, and two more players -- Keith Biggers and Avery Smith -- will sit out to serve league-issued suspensions.
That will leave much of the ball handling duties to Aaron Weaver, who has been a key bench player with 17.1 points per game, and Rashard McGill, who averages 14.0 and has had double-digit scoring in seven of eight games played. Without first cousin Louis on the squad, Mark St. Fort takes over as the top post threat, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game following a 18-point, 14-rebound performance Sunday versus Gateway.
The Chicago Force (2-6) will have obstacles too, playing on the road on the second half of back-to-back games. They face their crosstown rivals, Windy City, Wednesday night.
The Force are led by Derrick McDonald, an aggressive guard who is second in the league in scoring and first in rebounding. Antoine Ware has become a big presence in the post lately, and Ronnie Carlwell leads the league in blocks.
Tickets to the game are $8 for general admission and $5 for students, kids and seniors.