Owen Sanders, Ottawa overwhelm Streator right from the tip in 3A L-P Regional semis

When the IHSA released its boys basketball postseason schedules a week and a half before the state series began, the Ottawa Pirates and the Streator Bulldogs knew one of them would move on to likely face regional top seed and host La Salle-Peru for a regional title, while the other would have its season ended at the hands of its Route 23 rival.

From the opening tip of the late Class 3A L-P Regional semifinal Wednesday night, the Pirates left absolutely no doubt which team would be which.

Ottawa won that opening tip, scored the night’s initial 13 points and was never truly threatened in a running-clock, 68-36 decision over the Bulldogs. It set up Friday’s 7 p.m. regional championship back at Sellett Gym in La Salle between the Pirates (15-12) and the host Cavaliers (19-10).

“Our end goal is to get the regional,” said Ottawa 6-7 senior Owen Sanders, who was magnificent throughout with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists, physical defense and a crowd-pleasing rebound dunk for the 12th and 13th points of the victors’ game-opening 13-0 run. “That’s what we were coming to do, so we knew we had to come to play tonight to get there.”

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Ottawa's Hezekiah Joachim wins a jump ball over Streator's Sharonn Morton and Joseph Hokestra during the Class 3A Regional semifinal game on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026 in Sellett Gymnasium at L-P High School. (Scott Anderson)

After a slow start for both teams – Ottawa missing its first four shots; Streator turning the ball over on five of its initial seven possessions – the Pirates started connecting. It began with a Colt Bryson 3-pointer off a George Shumway assist two and a half minutes in, and it didn’t really stop until the final horn.

Ottawa shot 57.1% (24 of 42) from the field, including an even 50% (12 of 24) from the 3-point arc. Led by Bryson (12 points, three assists, four steals), Shumway (10 points, five rebounds), Rory Moore (eight points), Jack Carroll (seven points), Hezekiah Joachim (six points, four assists) and the big game from big man Sanders, the Pirates’ lead was 25 points, at 39-14, by halftime and over 30, at 58-26, through three quarters to make the entire fourth-quarter clock a running one.

“We did [control things], and it helps when you shoot well,” Pirates coach Mark Cooper said. “We shot well tonight, but we moved the ball offensively too, which was helpful. We kind of jumped on them early.

“Streator-Ottawa games are never like this. They just aren’t, so it’s a credit to our guys that we had a really good night, because we have a ton of respect for Streator.”

Brennen Stillwell scored 15 points, Joe Hoekstra had a near-double 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals, and Sharonn Morton contributed eight points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs (13-18), who needed a relatively strong second-half performance after an ice-cold start to shoot 35.9% (14 of 39) for the night with 15 turnovers.

“They dictated everything,” Streator coach Beau Doty said, “especially at the defensive end. They had us on our heels right from the start and did a good job taking us out of the things we try to do. Our health kind of showed up with the illness going through our team and some injuries, but that’s not an excuse. ...

“Ottawa took control early, and then it just snowballed. They shot the ball extremely well.”

Ottawa's George Shumway (24) lifts a shot and draws contact from Streator's LA Moton during the La Salle-Peru Class 3A Regional semifinals Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in La Salle. (Scott Anderson)

Streator will graduate Hoekstra, starting point guard LA Moton and Riley Stevens off a team that won the Illinois Central Eight Conference championship for a second straight season.

“We showed the fight we needed to be competitive, but it was just too late,” Doty said. “But you look in the grand scheme of things ... this group’s been a pleasure to coach, and with nine of our 11 guys coming back next year, hopefully this shows the things we need to work on.”

La Salle-Peru bested Ottawa in all three of the rivals’ meetings this season – 63-28 in the championship quarterfinals of the Plano Christmas Classic and then 45-37 and 55-37 in their two Interstate 8 Conference contests.

“They’ve gotten us when we’ve played them,” Sanders said. “But we’re going to come out and show out for Friday. We need to get one back, and of all games, this is the one to do it.”