With Illini Prairie title in rearview, Duval and Spartans turn attention to the postseason

Playing against the likes of Bloomington Central Catholic, Chillicothe IVC, Monticello, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Pontiac, Prairie Central, Rantoul, St. Thomas More and Unity presents its own challenges.

Challenges the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ basketball team passed every night of the boys’ basketball season this winter, with the Spartans finishing off an undefeated nine-game run through Illini Prairie play and clinching a league title following a 72-42 win at Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Feb. 13. SJO 

The Spartans ended off an early PBL surge, leading 19-14 at the end of the first quarter and taking a 36-23 lead into halftime before leading 50-34 to start the fourth quarter.

SJO received balanced scoring against PBL, with senior guard Tanner Jacob and junior forward Tanner Siems each providing 13 points. Jacob handed out five assists and Siems hauled in six rebounds. Junior guard Coy Taylor joined Jacob and Siems in double figures with 11 points to go along with four assists, while senior guards Luke Landrus and Logan Smith each tallied nine points. Smith added seven assists and four rebounds. 

Junior guard Collin Thomey chipped in seven points, while sophomore guard Kodak McKinney (four points), sophomore guard Ryker Lockhart (two points), sophomore guard Will Haley and sophomore forward Trevor Ames (two points) rounded out the scoring.

Now, SJO will focus on picking up its third straight Class 2A regional championship. The Spartans host a regional this week, with SJO receiving the second seed and playing host to ninth-seeded Sullivan  (22-9) at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Sullivan defeated Westville 55-54 on Monday night in a regional quarterfinal game in Sullivan. 

The second regional semifinal game on Wednesday night in St. Joseph tips off at 7:30 p.m. between third-seeded Shelbyville (23-6) against eighth-seeded Oakwood (25-7). The winner of both regional semifinal games on Wednesday night will play at 7 p.m. Friday in the regional championship game, with a berth in next week’s Shelbyville Sectional on the line.