Underdog L-P gave ‘everything we had’ in sectional semifinal loss to Peoria

WASHINGTON – La Salle-Peru senior Mikey Hartman and his teammates knew they had an uphill climb going into Wednesday’s Class 3A Washington Sectional semifinal.

The Cavaliers entered with a sub-.500 record, while Peoria came in with 27 wins and a No. 10 ranking in Class 3A.

But the Cavs led for a large chunk of the first quarter, overcame a tough second quarter and cut a double-digit deficit to single digits three times in the second half before eventually losing 51-36.

“I think coming into this game, a lot of people doubted us,” Hartman said. “We were obviously the underdogs, but we came out, kind of punched them in the mouth, had a slower second quarter, then we came out after half and everybody was hustling and giving everything we had.”

Hartman played a key role in L-P’s strong start as he scored six of the team’s first eight points as the Cavs took the lead four times in the opening quarter before going to the second down 13-11.

“Just rebounding, hustling and pressure defense, forcing turnovers and getting them out of their stuff,” Hartman said about the keys to the strong start. “We had patience on offense. We were getting into our stuff and getting good looks.”

But L-P went cold in the second quarter.

The Cavs shot 0 of 9 from the floor and 1 of 6 from the free-throw line as they were outscored 13-1 in the second to enter halftime trailing 26-12.

“I think in the second quarter we started to take quick shots,” L-P coach John Senica said. “We didn’t run our offense. We didn’t take great shots. Then they would come down and hit some buckets.”

Down 14 at the break, L-P didn’t roll over.

The Cavs opened the second half on an 8-3 run capped by a corner 3-pointer from Nick Olivero to cut the deficit to 29-20.

Peoria responded immediately with a 3 from Spencer Russell to push the lead back to double digits.

“We knew we were still in it,” L-P freshman Marion Persich said about how the Cavs were feeling at halftime. “We played our game. We were running our offense and playing defense.”

The Lions extended their lead to as many as 16 in the third, but L-P grabbed the momentum going to the fourth when Erick Sotelo tipped in a miss at the buzzer to make it 37-26.

A post bucket by Jameson Hill on L-P’s first possession of the fourth once again cut the deficit to nine, but the Lions answered quickly again with a 3, this time from Orlando Edwards Jr.

With Peoria up 14, Olivero and Sotelo drained back-to-back 3s to bring the Cavs within 42-34 with 5:10 left, then a bucket by Persich on a backdoor cut on an assist from Sotelo cut the deficit to 43-36 with 3:25 to go.

But the Lions called timeout, then scored the final eight points, capped by a fastbreak dunk by Miami (Ohio) recruit LeShawn Stowers with 53.4 seconds left.

“The kids dug deep,” Senica said. “We were boxing out. We were playing good defense. We moved the ball around. We were setting our screens. We were getting really good looks. Nick and Erick hit a couple nice 3s for us and Marion had a nice bucket. That’s all because we ran our offense and were patient.

“We played hard. We didn’t give up on anything. We should not hang our heads. I’m proud of them. I thought they played a great game.”

Persich led L-P with 11 points, while Olivero scored nine and Hartman added eight. Stowers paced the Lions (28-6), who play Metamora (28-6) in Friday’s title game, with 15 points, while Russell had 11 points and Fenix Foy added 10.

The Cavs finished 15-19 and won back-to-back regional titles for the first time since 2015-16.

“We had lots of ups and downs, but in the end, we jelled together, worked our butts off, and I think it showed at the end of the season what our true potential was,” Hartman said.

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Peoria's LeShawn Stowers grabs a rebound over L-P's Marion Persich during the Class 3A Sectional semifinal game on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at Washington High School. (Scott Anderson)