Small school regional title games feature exciting matchups

Five Class 1A and Class 2A regional title games are on the slate Feb. 9 and 10 in the metro-east.

At the Class 2A Althoff Regional, longtime rivals Althoff (20-9) and Mater Dei (17-10) will battle for the third time this season at 7 p.m. Thursday. The two teams split a pair of regular season games with Althoff winning on its home floor, 59-49, and Mater Dei winning at the Highland Tournament 40-34.

At the Class 2A Sparta Regional, top-seed Nashville (23-6) takes on fourth-seed Greenville at 7 p.m. Thursday at Sparta High School.

At the Class 1A Valmeyer Regional, a battle of state-ranked teams is at 7 p.m. Thursday when No. 7 Mount Olive (25-3) battles No. 10 Okawville (21-6) at Valmeyer High School.

The Class 1A Madison Regional semifinals Thursday feature Lebanon (26-1), the top-ranked team in the state, taking on Bunker Hill at 6 p.m.; Madison plays Metro East Lutheran at 7:30 p.m. The championship game is at 7 p.m. Friday.

The championship of the Class 1A Marissa Regional is at 7 p.m. Thursday. The semifinals are Wednesday night between Gallatin and Marissa, and New Athens and Steeleville.

This story was originally published February 8, 2017 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Small school regional title games feature exciting matchups."