After watching Okawville end their last two seasons in postseason play, the Trico Pioneers got some sweet revenge in front of their home crowd Friday night with a 48-30 win in the Trico 1A Regional championship game.

“I was sick of watching Okawville end our seasons,” said Trico junior Logan Thies. “They are a very good team and they always play you tough. We didn’t want our fans to watch us end this season with a loss at home and we didn’t want Clint’s (Young, Trico’s lone senior) season to end here as well in front of the home fans.”

Behind Thies’ 27-point performance and Trico’s stifling defense the Pioneers claimed their second regional title in three years, with both title being won on their home-court.

“Coach Hawkins had a good game plan and we knew if we executed well, we would win that regional plaque,” added Thies.

No one executed Hawkins’ game plan better than Thies as the stand-out forward scored at will against the usually tough Okawville defense.

“Logan is a special player,” said Hawkins. “When he lets the game come to him, he can score in so many different ways. He is just a special high school basketball player. A lot of what we do depends on him.”

The Trico defense held a usually potent Okawville offense to just 16 points in the first half and to only 14 points in the second half as the Pioneers led from start to finish.

“This was our best defensive effort of the season,” said Hawkins. “To hold a team like this to just 14 points in the second half says a lot. Okawville is a very goods team. They are patient, they move the ball well and they have a lot of weapons.”

The Pioneers couldn’t have asked for a better start, as they jumped on Okawville 10-0 after a couple of three-pointers from Thies ignited the early offense.

It didn’t take Okawville long to get back in the game and after ending the first quarter on a 10-4 scoring run, trailed just 14-10.

Thies had 10 points in the opening quarter for Trico which made 6-of-11 shots in the period.

Trico’s shooting touch cooled off in the second quarter making just 3-of-11, but Okawville couldn’t take advantage as each team scored six points in the frame as the Pioneers held on to their four-point lead, 20-16 at the break.

Thies scored all six points for Trico in the second, while Jacob Frederking led Okawville with four.

The Pioneers began to pull away in the third quarter as they showed a concerted effort to get the ball inside to score. The plan worked out as Thies scored six more points and Chase Heins added four as Trico outscored Okawville 10-4 in the frame for a 30-20 lead heading to the fourth quarter. The Rockets were just 1-of-8 from the floor in the third, while going 2-of-6 from the foul line.

Trico’s defensive pressure continued to wear down Okawville and in the fourth, the Pioneers pulled away by outscoring their opponent 18-10 for the 18-point decision.

Thies and Jesse Smith each had five points in the final frame to pace the Pioneers.

“We were able to get into a flow early on as we hit some big shots in the first quarter,” said Hawkins. “But we then settled for outside shots and against a good zone like Okawville has, you have to pass the ball more and really make that zone shift to find some better shots.”

Smith finished with seven points for Trico, while Frederking led Okawville with 13.

With the win, Trico advanced to take on Mounds Meridian in the Eldorado Sectional semifinals Tuesday night. Meridian, a team Trico beat two years ago in the regional finals, has just one loss this season.

Advancing to the sectional round of the three-point showdown were Aaron Crossin of Valmeyer, Jacob Frederking of Okawville and Mike Lloyd and Clint Runyon of Marissa-Coulterville.