Mustangs to play for third place in IESA Class1A state tournament
By Fred Kroner
Prairieview Ogden’s seventh-grade boys’ basketball team will play for third place in the IESA Class 1A state tournament on Thursday (Feb. 9) at East Peoria Junior High School.
PVO (23-3) will take on Lincoln West Broadwell (25-4) in the 6 p.m. third-place game.
The Mustangs split their two state tournament games on Saturday (Feb. 4) at East Peoria, using overtime to rally past Springfield Christ The King, 30-26, in the quarterfinals before falling to Pana Sacred Heart, 34-29.
Lane McKinney and Airin Rash each tallied 10 points against Springfield. Lucas Waters added six points and Jameson Ehler contributed four points.
In the overtime session, Rash tallied four points and Ehler scored the other two points for PVO.
The Mustangs trailed, 13-6, after one quarter and 16-13 at halftime. They were still behind, 19-16, entering the fourth period, but pulled even, 24-24, at the end of regulation.
In the semifinals, McKinney produced his fifth 20-point game of the season to keep PVO in contention. Rash had four points, Ehler scored three and Waters chipped in with two points.
Pana led, 13-7, after one quarter and 19-11 at halftime. Pana extended its lead to 31-20 after three quarters before the Mustangs tallied 11 fourth-period points to draw close.
The state semifinal loss snapped a 10-game PVO winning streak.
PVO, which has a student enrollment of 44 total between the seventh- and eighth-grades, has had boys’ basketball teams qualify for state 11 times.
The seventh-graders have advanced, besides this year, in 2020, 2019, 2012, 2010 and 2003.
The eighth-graders have reached state, besides this year, in 2010, 2009, 2006 and 1969.
The school’s state trophies in boys’ basketball thus far have come in 2020 (seventh-graders were second) and in 2009 (eighth-graders were second).
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The Prairieview Ogden eighth-graders earned their state tournament berth on Tuesday (Feb. 7), disposing of Cissna Park, 50-10, in the IESA Class 1A sectional championship game at Schlarman Academy in Danville.
PVO jumped into leads of 18-2 after one quarter and 34-5 at halftime.
Jon Couture tallied a game-high 14 points.
Other teammates who got in on the scoring frenzy were Aiden Hundley (eight points), Kaden Wedig (eight points), Lane McKinney (seven points), Alex Vaughn (six points), Garrett Loschen (four points) and Jameson Ehler (three points).
Hundley and Wedig notched two three-pointers apiece. Ehler and McKinney each hit one three-pointer.
The eighth-graders have a six-game winning streak.
This year marks the second time in school history that the PVO seventh- and eighth-grade teams qualified for state in the same year. It also happened in 2010.
On Thursday (Feb. 2), Wedig scored a game-high 20 points as PVO won the regional tournament title by virtue of a 46-19 victory over second-seeded Schlarman Academy.
The regional tournament was played at Rantoul St. Malachy.
Wedig connected on a buzzer-beating shot from three-quarters court to end the first period and lift the Mustangs into a 17-1 lead.
Couture chipped in with 10 points. Teammates McKinney and York each added four points.
On Tuesday (Jan. 31), Couture’s season-high 24-point outburst propelled PVO to a 44-20 regional semifinal victory over Rossville-Alvin.
PVO’s Mustangs are the No. 1 seed. Rossville-Alvin was the No. 4 seed.
PVO led, 10-5, after one quarter, but moved into a 23-8 halftime cushion. Couture and Vaughn scored five points apiece in the second period.
Wedig totaled seven points. Vaughn had five while both Loschen and Mason Ramm tacked on four points apiece.
PVO is 19-5 and returns to action in the Class 1A state quarterfinals on Saturday (Feb. 11) against Peru Catholic (22-2) at Assumption Central A&M Middle School. The game time is set for 1 p.m., with the winner returning that evening at 6:30 p.m. for the state semifinal contest.
