East Peoria clubbed the Dunlap boys basketball team Friday.
The Raiders outscored the Eagles in every quarter to sweep the Mid-Illini Conference season series.
East Peoria (11-11, 7-5) returned to the .500 mark overall as three players were in double figures.
The victory locked up an upper-division league finish for the second year in a row.
Alex Cline led the visitors at Dunlap with 12 points. Joe Kelch and Dylan Sparkman added 10 apiece.
“We were balanced there scoring-wise, three guys in double figures,” EPCHS head coach Ron Kelch said. “I thought we came out and did what we had to do.”
The Raiders jumped out to a 17-8 lead after one quarter and did not look back in handling the last-place conference squad.
The home team was down just 10 points with 5:40 to go, but East Peoria shut out the Eagles the rest of the way.
“No game’s ever safe. We knew this was going to be a hard-fought game when we came in,” Kelch said. “We were ready to fight. I thought our effort was good the whole game.”
With 12 points, Austin Kelly was the lone Dunlap player with more than six.
The Raiders have limited foes to less than 50 points in five of their seven M-I victories.
— Steve Daggs contributed to this story
Postseason: Fourth-seeded East Peoria meets No. 5 seed Metamora at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Class 3A Limestone Regional quarterfinals.
The winner faces No. 1 seed Washington at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Bartonville.
