March 08, 2025
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Class 2A Peotone Sectional championship preview

By Mason Schweizer
Bishop McNamara's Trey Provost maneuvers below the basket for a layup during the Fightin' Irish's 79-67 victory over Joliet Catholic Academy in the IHSA Class 2A Peotone Sectional semifinal on March 4, 2025.

Bishop McNamara's Trey Provost maneuvers below the basket for a layup during the Fightin' Irish's 79-67 victory over Joliet Catholic Academy in the IHSA Class 2A Peotone Sectional semifinal on March 4, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

(2)Bishop McNamara (26-7) vs. Bismarck-Henning (33-1)

Friday, March 7 | 7 p.m. | Peotone High School

Since the regular season ended, Bishop McNamara boys basketball coach Adrian Provost hasn’t been shy about how much he loves postseason basketball, and why.

“It’s the best time of year,” Provost has said on multiple occasions over the last couple weeks. “Careers are ending.”

Each time he says it, Provost goes on to explain that the passion and drive seniors play with as they realize the next game they lose is their last, unless they go on to win a state championship, brings out the best basketball the state has to offer.

And fortunately for he, the Fightin’ Irish and their school-record 26 wins, they’re still alive with the chance to win the program’s first sectional championship since 2017, when they hoisted the Class 2A third-place trophy. In order to advance to the round of eight and the Joliet Central Super-Sectional, the Fightin’ Irish will have to get past one of the state’s darling teams this season, Bismarck-Henning.

The Blue Devils were the last team in the state to record a loss, piling up a 28-game winning streak until Mahomet-Seymour got them 67-58 Feb. 15. Their 33 wins are the second-most in program history to the 2019-20 team that won 34 games, including the program’s last sectional.

Guards Keison Peoples (21 points per game) and Micah Stanford (14 ppg) combine to score a little more than half of the team’s 63 ppg average, but they can also get scoring in the frontcourt from players like Chaz Dubois (9 ppg), with the trio all averaging at least two steals per game and possessing the ability to turn defense to offense.

That’s something the Fightin’ Irish excel at as well, forcing an average of just under 18 turnovers per game, using their speed to their advantage to get it and go the other way. The Irish also share the ball well, as they have averaged 20 assists on 28 made field goals per game.

Bishop McNamara's Callaghan O'Connor lays one in during a home game against Hope Academy Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.

Bishop McNamara's Callaghan O'Connor lays one in during a home game against Hope Academy Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Daily Journal/Mason Schweizer)

No McNamara player has as gaudy of a per game scoring average as Peoples, or even Stanford, but they have gotten consistent offensive balance all season long. Junior big man Callaghan O’Connor and his 11.3 ppg lead the team, but all five McNamara starters – O’Connor, Willie Felton, Cole Czako, Trey Provost and Karter Krutsinger – all average at least 8 ppg. Trey Provost exploded for 25 points in last Friday’s regional championship against Fieldcrest and Krutsinger went for 26, including 20 in the first half, of Tuesday’s sectional semifinal against Joliet Catholic Academy, showing that any one of the starting five can take control on the offensive end.

With a sectional plaque on the line and a full house anticipated in Peotone, expect both teams to come out of the gate aggressive on defense, looking to seize momentum early. While both teams do boast plenty of offensive firepower and a knack for getting up and down the court quickly and efficiently, the airtight defenses they both play mean this game could be anywhere from a low-scoring slugfest to a high-octane affair. But one thing is almost a certainty – it should be quite the entertaining battle.