La Salle-Peru takes control early, holds off Ottawa for I-8 win

LA SALLE – With La Salle-Peru not using its typical starting lineup in order to honor its seniors, Ottawa got off to a strong start Friday, scoring the game’s first six points.

When L-P coach John Senica subbed in his usual starters, the Cavaliers quickly took control.

After Ottawa’s opening run, L-P scored the next nine points and led the rest of the way as the Cavs held off multiple Pirates comeback attempts in the second half to win 54-44 in an Interstate 8 Conference game, the 255th meeting between the old rivals.

“I thought we came out and played pretty well,” Senica said. “The guys came out aggressive. We played good defense. We got a little sloppy there in the fourth quarter, but we regained our composure and pulled it out.”

The win was L-P’s third over the Pirates this season and fifth straight in the series, and it came on a night the Cavs celebrated their seniors - Cordell Wheatley, Mikey Hartman, Jackson Sellett, Nick Olivero and Andy Medina - and the 2025 L-P Hall of Honor class in front of a full house at A.J. Sellett Gymnasium.

“With all the fans, the Hall of Fame, the seniors, all the parents, it was a really good night for everyone,” said L-P junior Erick Sotelo, who scored a season-high 25 points.

L-P's Marion Persich dunks the ball over Ottawa's Hezekiah Joachim on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 in Sellett Gymnasium at L-P High School. (Scott Anderson)

Sotelo, typically a starter, came off the bench a couple minutes into the game and provided an immediate spark as he drained back-to-back 3-pointers to tie it at 6.

“I felt like I got right in the flow when I hit those two 3s,” Sotelo said. “I wouldn’t have been able to (have a big night) without my teammates. They set good screens, they drove hard, and they got me open.”

Olivero drained three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to put the Cavs ahead for good at 9-6.

L-P led 12-8 after one quarter and then opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run to push its lead to 24-10.

“We played good defense, we pushed the ball really well, and we hit some shots,” Sotelo said of the run, during which he had a 3, a post bucket and an assist on a three-point play by freshman Marion Persich. “We got the ball moving. We ran our offense, and we were in the flow.”

The Cavs led 32-20 at halftime, and a 3 by Sotelo extended the advantage to 35-20 on L-P’s first possession of the second half, but the Pirates did not let the game get away from them.

Evan Snook scored on a layup as Ottawa pushed the ball up court off a rebound and drove for a bucket on the next trip down to spark an 8-0 run that pulled the Pirates within 35-28.

“We looked disjointed in the first half offensively,” Ottawa coach Mark Cooper said. “The ball wasn’t moving. We were dribbling too much, and we didn’t rebound well enough on the defensive end. I thought we ran a little bit better offense in the second half, but we just dug ourselves too big of a hole.

“There were a few times we had a chance to make big shots to really put some game pressure on L-P, and we didn’t make them.”

A fast-break dunk by Persich help swing the momentum back to L-P, and the Cavs pushed their lead back to double digits at 43-32 by the end of the third quarter and 48-34 with 6:08 left ... but the Pirates had another run in them.

Ottawa got as close as 49-44 with 54 seconds left, but missed a 3 with 30 seconds left to cut the deficit to three, which led to a layup by Sotelo, who later hit a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left.

“We held the ball, limited turnovers, we got buckets when we needed to, and we stopped any spark they had in coming back,” Sotelo said.

Sotelo drained four 3s en route to his 25 points for L-P (12-15, 5-3 I-8), while Persich added 10 points.

“Erick was our rock tonight,” Senica said. “He had a heck of a game. I’m really proud of him.”

Owen Sanders paced the Pirates (9-13, 1-7) with 17 points, while Snook finished with 13.

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