In a physical battle between rivals Friday, La Salle-Peru was looking for a spark to pull away from rival Ottawa.

Wyatt Kilday delivered one, the senior came off the bench to make several big plays in the second half.

He hustled to block a shot on a fast-break opportunity late in the third quarter, also saving the ball from going out of bounds on the play.

Kilday drained a 3-pointer on L-P’s first possession of the fourth quarter and made a backdoor cut for a bucket to give the Cavaliers their first double-digit lead to help them to a 45-37 victory in an Interstate 8 Conference game in La Salle.

“He gave us what we needed to get the momentum to get the nice lead we got,” L-P coach John Senica said. “He did a great job for us coming off the bench. He got that block, and instead of watching the ball go out of bounds he went and got it and threw it back in bounds. That was a great hustle play on his part. I think that just sparked everybody else on the team.

He had a nice backdoor cut and a nice offensive rebound and putback. He hit a big 3 for us. I think that 3 helped push us to that next level.”

Ottawa scored the final five points of the third quarter to close within 27-24. Kilday’s 3 made it 30-24.

“I feel like there were a lot of big plays,” Kilday said. “I might have contributed a little bit, but I feel like we had a lot of momentum going into that fourth quarter, and I just added to that momentum.”

Erick Sotelo found Kilday on a backdoor cut for a basket with 5:33 left, and the Cavs extended their lead to as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“I was just trying to help my team out as best as I could and do my part, but it’s a team game,” Kilday said.

After scoring 27 points through the first three quarters, L-P scored 18 in the fourth.

“They stopped us from pushing the ball up the floor,” Senica said. “We kind of played their game tonight. We like a fast pace, pushing the ball up the floor, and we weren’t able to get into that. We did a little bit in the fourth quarter. We were able to start to break away a little bit.”

The win was L-P’s second over Ottawa this season after beating the Pirates 63-28 in the Plano Christmas Classic. The Cavs have won seven in a row over the Pirates. The teams will meet again Feb. 6 in Ottawa.

“It feels good,” Kilday said about extending the winning streak. “Hopefully we can keep that streak going.”

Marion Persich drained a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game and the Cavs led throughout, but could never shake the Pirates.

L-P led 6-1 midway through the first, but Ottawa closed to 7-6 on its first possession of the second quarter. The Cavs led 16-10 at halftime, but the Pirates scored the first four points of the second half to make it 16-14.

The Cavs threatened to pull away late in the third, going up by eight twice, but Owen Sanders buried a 3, and Hezekiah Joachim hit a pair of free throws to pull the Pirates within 27-24 entering the final eight minutes.

“I thought we played hard,” Ottawa coach Mark Cooper said. “Both teams played hard. It was an extremely physical game that didn’t have much flow. Being down six in the first half, we needed to make a couple more shots. It felt like it was six- or seven-(point deficit) the whole game. It felt like we were at that point where we weren’t quite close enough to take the lead, but it didn’t get up to double figures.

“Points were so hard to come by on both ends of the floor that we just needed to make a couple more shots in the first half where the game may be even and we’re not having to chase.”

Persich led the Cavaliers (11-3, 2-1 I-8) with 13 points and six rebounds, Gavin Stokes had 10 points and eight rebounds, Hill finished with seven points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Kilday added seven points and two blocks.

Joachim and Jack Carroll scored 10 points each for Ottawa (7-6, 1-2). Joachim also had five steals and three assists, and Carroll also grabbed six rebounds.

“L-P is a good, physical team that’s good defensively, and they have weapons on the offensive end,” Cooper said. “Our kids came over and battled, but we’ve got to be a little bit better going forward.”

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L-P's Marion Persich lets go of a shot in front of Ottawa's Owen Sanders on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 in Sellett Gymnasium at L-P High School. (Scott Anderson)