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Lexington punches ticket to Elite Eight with Watseka Sectional win

erich murphy, pontiac daily leader
·2 min read

WATSEKA — It's been 23 years since Lexington had won a sectional title before Friday night. By the time the evening was through, the Minutemen had won their such championship in school history. This time it was a 43-36 decision over Decatur (St. Teresa) that sends them to the Class 1A ISU Supersectional.

Lexington came into the postseason as the fifth seed in its sub-sectional but muscled through the Roanoke-Benson Regional with wins over the host Rockets, Cornerstone and Heyworth. The Minutemen took care of Decatur Lutheran in the sectional semifinal round before ending the Bulldogs' season for the Watseka title.

Ben Peacock got the Minutemen rolling early with a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter and Kaden Tolan scored two baskets as Lexington led 12-2 after one period.

Even though St. Teresa scored 11 points in the second frame, it could only match Lexington, who got another pair of triples from Peacock as the lead stood at 23-13 at the intermission.

The Bulldogs more than doubled their score in the third as St. Teresa closed the gap in half. Lexington was outscored 14-9 but still held a 32-27 edge heading into the home stretch.

Peacock scored the only field goals for the Minutemen in the fourth period — a 3 and a deuce. Instead, Lexington relied on making 6 of 10 shots from the free throw stripe to close out the win. Logan Friedmansky and Alex Thomas each made three tosses to help LHS advance.

Peacock led Lexington with 17 points and Thomas tossed in 11. Coffman scored 6 points, Friedmansky had 5 and Tolan chalked up 4 markers.

Billy Guyse led St. Teresa with 18 points.

Lexington's hopes to reach the Class 1A finals but the challenge is great as the Minutemen take on Yorkville Christian, a private school that plays a rugged 3A-4A schedule. Yorkville Christian is led by Division I prospect Jaden Schutt. Game time is Monday at 6 p.m. at Redbird Arena.

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Lexington punches ticket to Elite Eight with sectional victory