Once again the 1A boys basketball regional will be a showcase of good basketball for area teams.
The Trico Pioneers are the number one seed and the host of a 1A regional that features seven teams. Being the top seed, the Pioneers also have a first round bye.
While just having one senior on the roster, Trico has the experience and the talent to win its second regional in three years, but the road will not be easy.
Scoring wise, the Pioneers are led by juniors Logan Thies and Jesse Smith and 6’6’’ sophomore Chase Heins. Junior Tyler Coleman, sophomore Dylan Witthoft and senior Clint Young roundup Trico’s usual rotation. The Pioneers are battle tested this season after playing a number of the best schools in the area in the regular season and in tournament play.
Coach Shane Hawkins has made the Pioneers a perennial power in 1A in just his fourth year and Trico needs his expertise to win this regional as their nemesis, Okawville is the two seed.
The Pioneers will play the winner of the Steeleville/Marissa-Coulterville game in the semifinals.
Okawville has an early season win over Trico and has ended the season of the Pioneers the past two years.
The Rockets have hovered around the .500 mark all season long but their schedule is one of the toughest played by 1A schools.
Jacob Frederking leads the team in scoring and rebounding, while Taylor Walton and Jeremy Weeke can also score in bunches.
Add Tyler Brammeier, a veteran from last year’s squad, Ryan Burrough and three-point threat Austin Schwankhouse to the mix and Okawville has yet another balanced squad looking for a regional title.
The Rockets have regular season wins over fellow regional squads Valmeyer, Marissa-Coulterville, New Athens and Trico. However, Okawville also has a loss to Steeleville on its resume.
Coach Jon Kraus has more coaching experience than any other coach in this regional and it just seems that he has a knack for pulling out regional titles. Okawville is a clear favorite to advance to the regional final game.
Okawville knocked off Trico to win the Chester 1A Regional last season.
The Rockets will take on Valmeyer in the first round. Okawville defeated Valmeyer 87-32 in the very first game of the season.
This year’s three seed is the New Athens Yellowjackets led by a trio of scorers Tyler Womack, Vince Kiefer and Cody Gaubatz. All three players have good height and can shoot the basketball or take it to the rim.
Sophomore Adam Ingles gives the team a little more depth and size, but there isn’t a whole lot after that for the Yellowjackets.
New Athens advanced to the regional semifinals last season, before falling to Trico.
The Yellowjackets will take on Elverado in the opening round. New Athens rolled past Elverado 56-30 in the first round of the Chester Invitational Tournament.
The Steeleville Warriors are this year’s fourth seed of the regional and the young team that has just one senior on their roster seems to be hitting a groove at the right time.
Steeleville, which is led by juniors Andrew Pokrzywinski and Colin Smith, has picked up recent wins over New Athens, Lebanon, Gibault and Trico and also boasts a victory over Okawville earlier in the season.
If it wasn’t for a 0-8 record throughout two tournaments in the middle of the season, the Warriors could have been a one or two seed in this regional.
Steeleville doesn’t have a deep bench, but role players Nick Potter, Josh Diercks and the always improving Coire Reel give the team good balance. Torrey Gerberding is a deadly three-point specialist off the bench.
First year head coach Gerald Mumbower has the team playing harder especially on the defensive end, but one cold shooting night for the Warriors could end their season quickly as they will have the toughest road to the regional championship of the top four seeds.
Steeleville lost to Okawville last season in the regional semifinals.
The Warriors will take on Marissa-Coulterville in the first round. The two teams split conference games with the Meteors winning the most recent contest.
Marissa-Coulterville is the fifth seed of the regional and the team has been searching to find its identity under new coach Dirk Miller.
The team doesn’t have a lot of height, but it does have good depth and a very deep bench.
Senior Mike Lloyd is the team’s scoring leader and has been the team’s most consistent player. Joey Smith, Dave Parkinson and Joey Martin can lead the team in scoring on any given night, while Cody Mahan is the squad’s best three-point shooter.
Chris Fullerton, Casey Pitchford, Logan Tabor and Kyle Sinn are also expected to contribute come regional time.
The Meteors lost to Steeleville in the opening round of the regional last year.
Elverado is the sixth seed and is having one of its better seasons in a long time despite having just a handful of wins this season.
The Falcons are led by senior Kyle Kempfer.
The seven seed of the regional is the Valmeyer Pirates. Valmeyer has just one win on the season and are entering regional play with a 17-game losing streak.
The Pirates have been led this season by Kyle Kipping, Joe Heavner, Scott Andres and Ben Wuelling.
In the opening round, Okawville should coast past Valmeyer and New Athens should win easily over Elverado to advance to the semifinals. The marquee game of the opening round should be Steeleville versus Marissa-Coulterville.
The Meteors’ defense has caused Steeleville problems this season and the two teams split games in the conference race. The Warriors are riding with a little more momentum heading into the regional which may give them the edge.
In the semifinals, Trico matches up better with Marissa-Coulterville than Steeleville, but if it’s the Warriors in the semifinals, get ready for a classic. Each team has one victory over the other this season, with Steeleville winning the most recent battle in Campbell Hill. The home-court advantage will definitely be on Trico’s side, but if you plan on watching the game, get there early or you may not get a seat.
It will be hard for Steeleville to beat Trico two consecutive times at home, look for Logan Thies  and Jesse Smith to have a big games and lead the Pioneers to the regional finals.
In the other semifinal contest, Okawville looks to have the edge on New Athens, but don’t be surprised if the game comes down to the last shot with the Yellowjackets having a chance to win. In the end, Okawville has too much tradition and experience to lose the ball game and should advance to the regional final against Trico.
The championship game will be a toss up. Trico and Okawville are about equal in terms of talent and size. The Pioneers led the Rockets at halftime earlier in the season just to watch the lead get erased in the second half en route to a loss.
If the Pioneers can make the outside shot against Okawville they win the game and the regional title. If they have a cold shooting night, look for Okawville to grind out the win.