During the second quarter Friday, the La Salle-Peru boys basketball team struggled to score against Rantoul’s extended 1-3-1 zone and had trouble defending the 3-point line.

As a result, the Cavaliers saw a nine-point lead turn into a one-point deficit by halftime.

But the Cavs made adjustments at half and took control in the third quarter en route to a 59-38 victory in a nonconference game in La Salle.

“I thought we played very good team basketball,” L-P coach John Senica said. “I thought everybody shared the ball. We ran the offense pretty well against man. We did struggle against the 1-3-1 a little bit, but we regrouped at halftime and we came out and did what we had to do.”

L-P led 18-9 after the first quarter, but when the Eagles switched to a 1-3-1 zone in the second quarter, the Cavs managed just seven points.

Down 26-25 at halftime, the Cavs scored the first 10 points of the third quarter.

Jameson Hill found Erick Sotelo for a bucket on a backdoor cut, Braylin Bond scored on a putback, Hill scored on back-to-back possessions, including on an assist from Gavin Stokes, and Marion Persich finished the run with a basket.

“We switched up where our guards were and how we brought up the ball,” Hill said. “Then we just moved the ball better. We passed it up and down the court. We played more as a team and shared the ball more.”

Hill scored 10 points in the second half.

“We were able to move the ball around and find the gaps in the zone,” Hill said. “With a 1-3-1, there’s going to be gaps in the post, so we were able to really capitalize on that.”

Senica said the Cavs had better movement in the second half.

“We had guys standing too much (in the first half),” Senica said. “We just needed to move more. We needed to bring our guards up a little bit higher, put different guys in different positions and make sure we did what we had to do - attack it.”

Along with adjusting offensively, the Cavs defended better in the second half. After allowing four 3-pointers in the second quarter, L-P gave up just one in the second half.

The Cavs held Rantoul (4-5) to just 12 points in the second half.

“(At halftime we talked about) closing out on 3s and making sure we didn’t leave them open because they were killing us on that,” Hill said. “We closed out on 3s (in the second half). We didn’t leave people open on fast breaks. We were all together as a team. We were switching better on screens. We just stayed in front of the ball and didn’t give up open shots.”

Hill led three Cavs in double figures with 16 points, while Persich scored 12 and Sotelo added 11. Stokes finished with eight.

L-P (6-2) is off until opening the Plano Christmas Classic on Dec. 26 against Bremen. The Cavaliers, who are the No. 4 seed, could face rival Ottawa, the No. 5 seed, in the second round at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 27.

“I’m happy with how we finished the game (against Rantoul),” Hill said. “We’re playing as a team. I’m very happy with where we’re at going into the Plano tournament.

“It’s always fun. It’s a good way to gage our skill about halfway through the season.”

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L-P's Erick Sotelo and Jameson Hill grab a rebound against Rantoul on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 in Sellett Gymnasium at L-P High School. (Scott Anderson)