PEORIA, Ill. – Just like the past weekend for the girls’ basketball state finals, the Peoria-area will have two chances to win a state championship in the boys’ state finals.
Both Peoria Manual and Peoria Christian will take part in the IHSA state semifinals on Thursday at State Farm Center in Champaign. The Chargers will play Lanark Eastland in the Class 1A semifinals at around 11:15 A.M., while the Rams will play Chicago Dyett in the Class 2A semifinals at around 3:45 P.M.
Peoria Manual head coach Marvin Jordan is no stranger to the state finals, having played for two Ram state finalist teams. He’s looking forward to his players getting the same experiences.
“Mainly, just having a chance to do something special, having a chance to represent your community, and also having a chance to go out on the main stage and show that all the work we put in has paid off,” Jordan said.
Jordan says the team’s run to the state finals has been fueled in part by lessons learned during a tough stretch of games in the middle of the season. The team suffered a 7-game losing streak from mid-January to early-February, but playing schools above their class and top teams from out-of-state. He says it’s also helped his team become more resilient.
One of the stars of Manual’s team is senior guard Dietrich Richardson, a Bradley University commit.
Peoria Christian returns to state for the first time since 2004, when the Chargers finished 4th in Class A.
Head coach Jason Persinger, who is also a pastor at Peoria First Assembly, says some members of that team have come back to help rebuild the culture at Peoria Christian.
“One in particular, Micah Lavender, who was arguably the best player on that team, and that was before my time here in Peoria, just has taken a personal interest in hitting the weights with these guys in the offseason, investing in them, and also speaking into their lives as well,” Persinger said.
Persinger says it was good to “get over the hump” of making it to state, after winning six straight regional titles. He credits senior leadership on the team, as well as selfless play, for helping the Chargers get to Champaign. Persinger adds the team is close-knit, and just as motivated to keep playing together than winning a state title.
The team is led by senior guard Malachi Persinger, who is Peoria Christian’s all-time leading scorer. This season, Persinger is averaging 17.9 points per game, with 205 assists.
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