Here are the 11 Peoria-area boys basketball teams headed to the 2024 IHSA sectionals

The 2024 Illinois High School Association boys basketball regional championships were Friday around the state of Illinois. Here are the 11 teams from the Peoria area that won regional championships and advance to sectional semifinals next week.

CLASS 1A

Illini Bluffs

• How they won: Host Illini Bluffs beat Tomahawk Conference foe Illini Central, 69-51. This is the first time in program history that the Tigers have won back-to-back regional titles. Devon White (21 points), Wyatt Hendel (21 points) and Hank Alvey (14 points) paced second-ranked Illini Bluffs, which has won 19 in a row. IB now takes on Inter-County Athletic Conference rival Peoria Christian for a third time this season. The Tigers won those two meetings six days apart in mid-January.

• What's next: Illini Bluffs (31-3) vs. Peoria Christian (23-11), 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Abingdon-Avon Sectional semifinal.

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Peoria Christian

• How they won: Peoria Christian won its fifth regional title in row, beating Abingdon-Avon, 59-42, at the ROWVA/Williamsfield Regional final. Malachi Persinger scored 17 points with Lane Hunt adding 12. Josh Walton chipped in eight points and seven rebounds. PCS is now set to take on ICAC rival Illini Bluffs, which swept a pair of regular-season meetings against the Chargers.

• What's next: Peoria Christian (23-11) vs. Illini Bluffs (31-3), 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Abingdon-Avon Sectional semifinal.

Peoria Heights

• How they won: Fourth-seed Peoria Heights won its first regional in 14 years, knocking off top-seed Princeville, 59-54, in the Brimfield Regional championship. Camron Williams scored a game-high 31 points with Barrett Marfell scoring 13 for the Patriots, who are on a five-game win streak. Princeville had won the first three meetings against Heights including a 27-point win on Dec. 27.

• What's next: Peoria Heights (19-13) vs. Camp Point Central (23-8), 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Abingdon-Avon Sectional semifinal.

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CLASS 2A

Peoria Notre Dame

• How they won: Peoria Notre Dame hoisted its own regional plaque, upsetting second seed El Paso-Gridley, 47-30. The Irish jumped out to a 10-point lead in the second half. Kayden Hudson scored a game-high 14 points and Tommy Graham added 12. EP-G (25-6) got 10 points from Micah Meiss with Jonah Funk nearly posting a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds. PND now takes on Taylor Ridge Rockridge, which has back-to-back fourth-place finishes.

• What's next: Peoria Notre Dame (14-17) vs. Taylor Ridge Rockridge (25-6), 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Canton Sectional semifinal.

Manual

• How they won: No. 2 Manual used a big first quarter from Dietrich Richardson to beat Clinton, 61-31, in the Olympia Regional championship. The Division-I prospect hit five 3-pointers for 16 of his game-high 18 points in the first half. Jakyle Green scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. The Rams, who now have 41 regional titles, now take on Macomb, which won their first regional since 2015.

• What's next: Manual (21-11) vs. Macomb (26-5), 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Canton Sectional semifinal.

Macomb

• How they won: Macomb captured its first regional title in nine years by beating Sherrard, 51-32, in the Farmington Regional championship. The Bombers, who have won eight games in a row, had last won a regional title in 2015. Now, Macomb gets second-ranked Manual at Alice Ingersoll Gym in Canton.

• What's next: Macomb (26-5) vs. Manual (21-11), 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Canton Sectional semifinal.

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Princeton

• How they won: Princeton picked up its third regional championship in a row, taking out 10th-seed Morrison, 57-55, in the Prophetstown Regional title. The Tigers sealed the victory thanks to the go-ahead free throw by Noah LaPorte. Princeton's sectional opponent Rockford Christian has won back-to-back regionals for the second time in program history.

• What's next: Princeton (16-15) vs. Rockford Christian (23-7), 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Mendota Sectional semifinal.

Fieldcrest

• How they won: Fieldcrest won its first regional in four years, beating host Kankakee McNamara, 72-47. The Knights last won a regional in 2020, advancing to the Elite Eight that season. Since Dec. 28, Fieldcrest has won 22 in a row. Manteno, which takes on Fieldcrest in the sectional semi, is on a 20-game win streak.

• What's next: Fieldcrest (32-1) vs. Manteno (27-4), 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Clifton Central Sectional semifinal.

CLASS 3A

Richwoods

• How they won: Richwoods rallied to beat Morton, 56-53, in the Limestone Regional title. The Knights trailed by nine points at halftime, getting 24 points and 11 rebounds from Rutgers signee Lathan Sommerville. A contested 3-pointer fell short at the buzzer for Morton (28-5), which shared the Mid-Illini Conference title with Metamora. Richwoods (26-4) rides a 13-game win streak into the sectional for a second consecutive season.

• What's next: Richwoods (26-4) vs. Kankakee (27-4), 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Pontiac Sectional semifinal.

Metamora

• How they won: Reigning state champion Metamora made it back-to-back-to-back regional championships, beating Peoria High, 69-33, in the Geneseo Regional title. The victory gave coach Danny Grieves his 600th career victory. Now the Redbirds get LaSalle-Peru, which last made a sectional in 2016.

• What's next: Metamora (29-4) vs. LaSalle-Peru (24-8), 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Pontiac Sectional semifinal.

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LaSalle-Peru

• How they won: Fifth-seed LaSalle-Peru went into Sterling and knocked off the hosts, 68-54. The Cavaliers had beaten Sterling just 13 days ago in a 16-point victory. L-P now gets a crack at the reigning state champs Metamora, which has won 16 in a row.

• What's next: LaSalle-Peru (24-8) vs. Metamora (29-4), 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Pontiac Sectional semifinal.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA basketball: Regional roundup, sectional qualifiers in Peoria area