The La Salle-Peru boys basketball team had three keys to success going into the Class 3A Ottawa Sectional semifinal Tuesday against Morton.

L-P coach John Senica felt the Cavaliers needed to take care of the ball, rebound well and execute their offense.

“There were three things we talked about and we didn’t do any of the three,” Senica said. “We gave up way too many offensive rebounds and we turned the ball over. We didn’t execute our offensive plays and push the ball up the floor.”

The Cavs, who allowed 21 points off 16 turnovers and gave up 21 second-chance points off 14 offensive rebounds, held a lead late in the first quarter and kept it close in the second quarter but the Potters pulled away in the second half for a 69-48 victory.

“I think we did a lot of good things, but other things we needed to do - not giving up second chances, rebounding and just getting into our offense when there’s nothing there in the fast break - we didn’t do this game,” L-P freshman Gavin Stokes said. “We’re most successful when we do those things. Seeing that we didn’t do those things, that’s the outcome.”

L-P led early when Marion Persich scored on an assist from Jameson Hill and was fouled, making the free throw for a 3-2 lead.

Stokes drained a couple 3-pointers and drove for a bucket and Persich hit a jumper with 1:45 left to give the Cavs a 15-13 advantage.

“We came out aggressive and we weren’t playing scared,” Stokes said. “We were setting things up and doing the things we needed to do. That kind of slipped away toward the end.”

But the Potters scored the final eight points of the quarter, capped by a 3-pointer by Alex McKie with 2.6 seconds left for a 22-15 lead.

The Cavs pulled within 24-21 on a three-point play and 3-pointer by Persich and trailed 34-27 with 3:08 left in the second quarter, but Morton once again finished strong.

McKie drained two 3s in the final minute of the first half to push Morton’s lead to 40-27.

“I think that affected (the game) a lot because momentum is big in basketball,” Stokes said. “They got their crowd into it. They took all the momentum and that’s key in these types of games.”

Morton scored the first eight points of the third quarter to extend its lead to 48-27 and the Cavs never got closer than 15 the rest of the way.

“I think our guys were starting to run out of gas because we had to play multiple possessions,” Senica said. “We’d turn the ball over so we didn’t even get a chance to operate on offense and we’re right back on defense. We’re trying to force them to take a bad shot and then they’re getting an offensive rebound. I think our guys had to exert a lot of energy because of all the turnovers and second chances.”

The Cavs finish the season with a 20-11 record. L-P won it’s third consecutive regional championship.

“I’m very happy with the season,” Senica said. “I’m extremely proud of this team. They’re all great kids. I’m going to miss the seniors who are going to be graduating. We had so much adversity this year with sickness and injuries and to be here playing in this game, I’m proud of the kids for everything they fought through. I can’t say enough about them.”

The Cavs will return their top two scorers from Tuesday’s game in Persich (17 points, seven rebounds) and Stokes (10 points, four rebounds).

“Back-to-back-to-back regionals and not winning a sectional kind of stings a little bit, but I think we have a good group of guys coming back and hopefully we’ll win one next year,” Stokes said.

McKie hit 7-of-11 3s and scored 17 points for Morton (29-4), while Silas Steffan had 14 points and eight rebounds and Collin Burns added 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Potters, who were ranked No. 6 in the final Associated Press Class 3A Poll, will play the winner between No. 1 Kankakee (28-1) and No. 8 East Peoria (27-4) in the championship at 7 p.m. Friday.

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L-P's Marion Persich has his shot blocked by Morton's Owen Adams during the Class 3A Sectional semifinal game on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 in Kingman Gymnasium at Ottawa High School. (Scott Anderson)