Lawrenceville makes a bid for its’ first trip to the Illinois High School Association state basketball championships since 1996 on Monday night at Groninger Arena on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

The Indians, ranked second in the final AP poll of the year, face fourth-ranked Leroy in the Class 1A Super Sectional, scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The winner advances to the Final Four, and a Thursday 10 a.m. matchup against the winner of the Jacksonville Super Sectional game between Goreville and Jacksonville Routt.

Lawrenceville, 33-2 on the year, advanced from the Macon Sectional by defeating Altamont, 59-45, in the finals after escaping Little Illini Conference rival Casey-Westfield in a 30-29 semifinal thriller. Meanwhile, the Leroy Panthers, 32-2, won the title at the Danville Schlarman Sectional by defeating Decatur Unity Christian, 62-58, after edging past Champaign St. Thomas More, 59-51, in the semifinal.

This is Leroy’s second straight appearance in the Super Sectional. Last year, the Panthers lost to eventual 1A state champion Chicago Hope, 47-44, at the Normal Super Sectional at Illinois State University’s CEFCU Arena.

Lawrenceville 59, Altamont 45
–In the Macon Sectional championship game on Friday, Lawrenceville earned its’ second win over Altamont. having won an earlier regular-season matchup, 54-44, on Feb. 14. The scoring triumvirate of Jayden Goff, Noah Wilson, and Jacek Mickiewicz, led the way again for the Indians. Goff finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Wilson tacked on 15 points, and nine rebounds – missing a double-double by one board. Mickiewicz added 12 points for the winners.

Lawrenceville 30, Casey-Westfield 29
–The Sectional semifinal was the third meeting between these two (previous two won by the Indians), and by far, the most exciting. Casey-Westfield carried a one-point lead into the game’s final minute, 26-25, after a 3-point field goal from the corner by Jack Julius. However, Zander Cessna scored on a give-and-go seconds later to put Lawrenceville back up to stay, 27-26. Another triple by Julius, one second ahead of the buzzer, accounted for the 30-29 final. This intense affair was chock full of quality defense — early by Casey-Westfield, which ended up with 16 deflections and nine steals on the night, then later at crunch time by Lawrenceville, including a critical steal at :09 by Wilson. The Indians outscored C-W, 12-7, down the stretch.