There’s mid-season form, and there’s mid-postseason form.

Crystal Lake South’s boys basketball team looked the latter on its home court last week.

The Gators beat Crystal Lake Central by 37 points in their regional semifinal, before rallying to beat Cary-Grove, a team that it lost to twice during the regular season, for their fourth regional title in as many years.

South had to ramp up its game and get into playoff mode after a 61-53 loss at home to C-G on Jan. 23 dropped the Gators to three games back of the Trojans in the Fox Valley Conference.

“When [Cary-Grove] was running the table, we couldn’t [afford to] lose,” Gators coach Matt LePage said. “So we’ve been playing with that single-elimination mindset for almost a month.”

While South never caught C-G in the FVC race, finishing two games behind the Trojans and in second place, the Gators haven’t lost a game since their January defeat to the Trojans. South takes an 11-game winning streak into the Class 3A Woodstock North Sectional.

“It’s been a great run,” said LePage, whose Gators (26-7) will play Sycamore (27-5) at 7 p.m. Wednesday, with the winner advancing to Friday’s 7 p.m. sectional final against Kaneland (32-0) or Rockford East (16-17).

Behind Carson Trivellini’s 21 points, South beat Sycamore 66-37 in last season’s sectional semifinals at Rochelle.

“They’ve got a lot of guys back, and they’ve had a good year,” LePage said of the Spartans, who’ve won eight in a row.

South junior guards Trivellini and Nick Stowasser have experienced nine postseason wins in their three-year varsity careers, while sophomore twins Ryan and John Morgan were key contributors on last season’s Gators team that lost to Kaneland in the sectional final.

Moreover, South’s winning streak has included narrow decisions over Burlington Central (63-60) and Prairie Ridge (67-58, overtime).

The Gators’ big-game and big-moment experiences helped Friday night against C-G, as they rallied from a 16-point deficit in the first half, outscoring the Trojans 19-7 in the final quarter.

“For sure,” said John Morgan, who came off the bench to score 12 points on four 3-pointers, including two in the fourth quarter. “We’re used to that. We’ve been in so many of these big games. It feels so good to get one of these.”

“We just wanted a chance in the fourth quarter,” LePage said.

Meanwhile, Johnsburg (22-11) will play Aurora Christian (20-7) in a semifinal of the Class 2A Mendota Sectional at 7 p.m. Wednesday after winning its own regional last week.

The Skyhawks have won three games in a row since a 50-47 loss at home to Woodstock on Feb. 13 cost them the Kishwaukee River Conference title. Johnsburg and Woodstock both finished 12-2 in the KRC, but the Blue Streaks won the championship by virtue of their sweep in the season series.

“We really wanted to win conference, and that hurt to lose that one on our home court, so I just really wanted this for them,” Johnsburg coach Mike Toussaint said after his team beat Richmond-Burton 56-53 for the regional title. “They work hard. It’s probably the tightest group I’ve had. They’re like brothers. For them, I’m just really happy. It’s awesome.”

Wednesday’s winner will play Oregon (24-9) or Rockford Lutheran (18-15) for the sectional title at 7 p.m. Friday.

“I think we’re capable of anything we put our minds to,” said Johnsburg guard Jarrel Albea, who scored 12 points in the regional final. “As long as we play our game, don’t let anybody get in our heads, we’re capable of everything.”

By beating Richmond-Burton for the third time this season, Johnsburg will be playing a sectional game for the first time since 2019. The Skyhawks’ 22 wins are their most since they went 27-3 in the 2009-10 season and most in Toussaint’s 15 years as coach.

“If we play our best, I really think we can get downstate,” Josh Kaunas said after scoring a team-high 13 points in the regional final. “But we have to play our best and have really good practices.”

• Northwest Herald sports editor Alex Kantecki contributed to this report.