Jacksonville High School’s regional proved to be a tough one. The Crimsons showed they could compete when they knocked off the Senators of Springfield High. The Crimsons held off a valiant second half run in the second half by Springfield High to secure a 43-41 victory. In other first round action, Sacred Heart Griffin defeated Quincy Notre Dame 78-58. Griffin’s size and athleticism overpowered the younger Quincy Notre Dame team.
In semifinal action, the Crimsons ran into a tough Lanphier team coming off their only loss of the season. Lanpier, behind the hot hand of Xavier Bishop and the slashing athleticism of Larry Austin, Jr., rolled to a 108-72 win over the Crimsons. Blake Hance, the senior big man for JHS scored his 1,000th career point in the loss, wrapping up a great four-year varsity career. In the other semifinal game, the Cyclones of SHG defeated the host school Springfield Southeast. The final score was 80-75.
In the championship game. The Cyclones gave the Lions and their number one seed a run for their money. Sophomore guard Xavier Bishop score 22 of his game-high 34 points in the third quarter to give Lanphier the boost they needed. The Lions went on to win with the final of 77-67.
Lanphier moves on to the Mattoon sectional where they face Champaign Central.