The conference season is complete. So is the regular season. But, what lies ahead is what everyone wants the most – a trip to Assembly Hall in Champaign and a berth in the Illinois High School Association state basketball tournament. The first stop on the road to Champaign is at scattered first-round sites around the area on Monday night. All eight LIC teams will be in action with Regional semifinal berths awaiting the winners.
Lawrenceville (28-2 on the season), LIC regular-season and tournament champions, carries a No. 1 seed into the post-season. The Indians, ranked second in the final AP Class 1A poll of the season, open play at home against 16th-seeded Ramsey (1-26, according to Massey) Coach Tad Shick’s team has won five games in a row. The winner heads for Regional site Louisville (North Clay), and a matchup against the winner between No. 9 seed Patoka and eighth-seeded Red Hill.
Casey-Westfield (18-11), which finished second in conference play, concluded the regular-season with a 45-32 win over Newton last week. The Warriors have dropped three of their last four, but those losses have all come against state-ranked opponents: Lawrenceville and Goreville in 1A, plus Teutopolis in 2A. Casey-Westfield could play all three Regional games at home. As a No. 2 seed, they host Chrisman on Monday in the first round, then play host to the semi-final and championship games as well.
There is one first round game pitting two LIC teams against one another. Mt. Carmel (15-14) hosts Robinson (14-17) on Monday with the winner playing Teutopolis in the semifinals on Wednesday in Robinson. Both LIC teams are heating up at the right time. Mt. Carmel has won four straight to assure themselves of a .500 or a better season in Kyle Buss’ first year as head coach. Robinson, has won four of its’ last five games.
Newton (16-13), part of the Robinson field, is also on a roll, with four wins in its’ last five outings. The Eagles host OPH in the first round on Monday. These two will meet for the second time in 13 days – with Newton winning the first matchup, 60-50.
Olney (9-21), which shared third-place with Newton in the final conference standings, is in its’ first year in Class 2A after years in the larger 3A field. The Tigers are the lone LIC team in the Vandalia Regional field, and hit the road to Effingham on Monday for the first rout. These two have met in Effingham before – back on Jan. 6 when the Hearts prevailed, 59-49.
Marshall (12-15) and Paris (12-17) both feed into the St. Joseph-Ogden Class 2A Regional. Monday in the first round, Marshall ,a No. 11 seed, travels to Clinton, while Paris, seeded tenth, heads for Pana.
