WESTVILLE — Just ask Macon Meridian boys basketball coach Jack Blickensderfer about the differences between last year’s Class 1A state championship team and this season’s seventh-ranked Hawks, and he’ll tell you the contrast is real.

The goal hasn’t changed, but the journey has taken a different route.

“Last year’s team, you realize how special they were,” Blickensderfer said. “When you see other teams play and you see us play, people say we’re not very exciting.

“Last year’s team was more high society. They would go out and fine dine and all of that kind of stuff. This year’s team, we go to McDonald’s and they’re blue collar. They’re just different types of teams. I think they work hard.

“Sometimes we don’t do all the right things. They don’t look pretty, but they work hard, and there are lots of teams that would like to be where we are right now.”

And where they are is preparing to play in their second consecutive sectional title game after defeating the Arcola Purple Riders 64-45 in Tuesday’s Westville Sectional semifinal.

If it were up to Blickensderfer and many of his players, fine dining as a reward for the win wouldn’t even be considered after a sub par performance against the Purple Riders.

The difference, though, came during the final 4:45 of the first half where Meridian outscored Arcola 15-2, extending its halftime lead to 31-20 after trailing early in the contest.

And while all eyes might have been on standout point guard Trent Swigert (19 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals), it was Kyle Gates who gave the Hawks a spark off the bench by draining a 3-pointer in the second quarter on his first touch of the game.

The three gave Meridian (24-5) its final lead of the game at 12-11 just 42 seconds into the quarter, and paved the way for the Hawks to resume control of the lopsided affair.

“He’s actually been shooting the ball really well this postseason,” Swigert said. “At our Cerro Gordo Regional, I think he only missed a couple of threes out of the ones he shot. His confidence is at a high right now and I’m just trying to find him.”

Blickensderfer was also trying to find Gates shortly after he entered the game as the thorns of negative defensive play were evident to a coaching staff eager to get back to Peoria. But the junior guard’s offensive production ultimately gave him a pass.

“His defense wasn’t very good tonight,” Blickensderfer said. “I told the (assistant) coach, ‘I’m taking him out.’ Then he came down here and hit a three right in front of me and I said, ‘Well, I guess I’ll leave him in.’ He’s been shooting the ball really well lately, and Swigert, if he’s not first team all-state, there shouldn’t be a first team all-state. He’s unselfish, he plays good defense.”

Gates (four rebounds, two steals) hit four threes in the game accounting 12 of his 14 points before exiting the contest, along with many of the team’s other regulars, at the 2:23 mark of the fourth quarter.

Cory Burns scored 11 points while finishing with three rebounds and four assists for the Hawks, and Casey Dodson had six points and four rebounds.

Arcola’s Garrison Stenger (11 points, 12 rebounds, four steals) finished with the game’s only double-double, and Nicholas Lindenmeyer led the Purple Riders in scoring with 12.

With a couple days off before Friday’s sectional title game, Meridian will begin preparing for its next opponent with the possibility of seeing a rematch of last year’s sectional championship against the top-rated Salt Fork Storm.

“We didn’t come out and play how we wanted to,” Swigert said. “We didn’t play how we wanted to before a sectional championship game. It’s good that we have two practices before this next game because we can really clear up on a few things. We can come together as a team more and just prepare for the winner of the Salt Fork and (Iroquois West).”

Friday’s title game is schedule to begin at 7:30 p.m.