Four boys basketball teams from the Peoria area won sectional championships Friday night in the 2026 IHSA postseason.
Tremont, Manual, Morton and Richwoods are moving on to the Elite Eight after victories. Details about their wins are below.
Richwoods 59, Edwardsville 58
ROCK ISLAND — The Knights erased a double-digit, second-half deficit to win the Class 4A Rock Island Sectional, earning a berth in the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons.
Division-I prospect and sophomore guard Amarion Smith-Holley set the final score when he sank two free throws with 12 seconds to play. He scored a game-high 21 points as classmate Anfernee Moore added 20.
Smith-Holley was coming off Tuesday’s sectional semifinal victory where he made three game-clinching free throws with no time on the clock.
Unranked Richwoods (27-7) advances to Monday’s 7 p.m. Normal Supersectional at CEFCU Arena to face No. 9 Chicago Marist (30-5).
Manual 57, Warsaw West Hancock 41
CHILLICOTHE — Manual is heading back to the Elite Eight for a second consecutive season after winning the Class 2A Chillicothe Sectional at Illinois Valley Central.
The Rams built an early, double-digit advantage and made 14 fourth-quarter free throws to seal the victory. Josh Humbles (19 points), Reggie Postlewaite (15 points) and Tahj Tolliver (11 points) all scored in double-figures for Manual.
Fifth-ranked Manual (22-9) advances to Monday’s 7 p.m. Sterling Supersectional to face unranked Johnsburg (24-11).
Morton 61, Kankakee 48
OTTAWA — The Potters won their first sectional in 15 years by knocking off No. 1 Kankakee in the Class 3A Kankakee Sectional championship.
Morton, which is riding a 23-game win streak, was up 30-22 at halftime, taking advantage of a three-minute, second-quarter scoring drought by the Kays. From there, Alex McKie (15 points) hit a pair of 3s to open the third period along with Colin Burns scoring nine of his 13 points in the final frame.
Sixth-ranked Morton (30-4) advances to Monday’s 6 p.m. DeKalb Supersectional at Northern Illinois to face No. 3 Maple Park Kaneland (34-0).
Tremont 47, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 45
MONMOUTH — The Turks beat their Route 9 rival in the Class 1A Monmouth United Sectional title, giving Tremont its first sectional championship since 2003.
Tremont got the winning bucket when Miller Reynolds drove baseline and saw the Dee-Mack defense collapse on him. He then fired a wraparound pass to Andrew Dawson for the winning basket as the horn sounded. The Turks had lost to Dee-Mack twice earlier in the season, but claimed a 12-point win on Jan. 20.
Unranked Tremont (25-10) advances to Monday’s 7 p.m. Macomb Supersectional at Western Illinois to face unranked Lanark Eastland (31-5).
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Richwoods, Manual, Morton, Tremont advance in IHSA boys basketball playoffs
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
