Sports
Metamora basketball has one of the hottest tickets in the IHSA playoffs – Peoria Journal Star
Seeing Metamora play has become appointment viewing. If you can get in, that is.
Tickets have come at a premium for the No. 1-ranked Redbirds boys basketball team during its run to the Illinois High School Association Class 3A state finals.
Metamora played in front of sold-out, capacity crowds for its sectional championship and supersectional games. Fans were turned away last week at Galesburg and Monday in Ottawa.
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And this happened not only in the postseason, but also in games late in the regular season, says coach Danny Grieves.
“Probably our last 10 games have been sellouts,” Grieves said Monday night, amidst a sea of the Redbirds faithful. “Our fans have been amazing. You talk about our guys feeding off it … it was even louder than last year in here.”
During last season’s run to a 3A state runner-up finish, Metamora found itself set to play in its first supersectional game in four years at Ottawa High School. Crowds clad in black and red squeezed into the 2,500-seat Kingman Gymnasium and witnessed the Redbirds make their first Final Four.
A year later, a long, snaking line formed 90 minutes prior to Monday’s tipoff and weaved through a long corridor just outside the venerable arena. As of Sunday morning, tickets were gone.
On Friday, officials at Galesburg implored fans to squeeze in ahead of Metamora’s sectional final against Richwoods, telling people they could sit in the aisles of the bleachers once everyone was settled.
Metamora is probably best known for a strong football community that also fills the Malone Field bleachers on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons in the fall.
No different now for basketball, apparently.
“Each game you think it’s loud then the next game is a little louder,” junior Luke Hopp said after Metamora won its 30th game in a row. “Tonight, my ears are just ringing. It’s a great atmosphere. Adds energy to it for sure.”
Tyson Swanson thinks it has made his final prep campaign even more special, especially the packed loud and rowdy student section.
“For the last two years, we’ve played with a huge crowd like every game,” said Swanson, who scored 19 points in the 60-48 win over Aurora Marmion. “It definitely makes a senior season so much better, too.”
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Metamora fans looking for tickets to the 11:45 a.m. Friday state semifinal against East St. Louis can purchase them through the State Farm Center or wait until the school puts its allotment on sale in the coming days.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.