Basketball Indians win 2nd straight LIC tournament

The #1 ranked Lawrenceville basketball Indians ran their winning streak to 7 in a row as they rallied from behind in the second half and went on to beat the Casey-Westfield Warriors 42-31 Friday night at Robinson to win the 2026 Little Illini Conference (LIC) tournament.

The Warriors slowed the game down and got off to a good start in the championship game with those tactics. They led 13-5 after one quarter and 20-16 at the half, but the Tribe responded with a solid second half that found them taking a 29-26 lead after three quarters and held Casey to only 5 points in the fourth quarter and hit free throws down the stretch to win and run their overall season record to 21-1.

The Indians were led by Zander Cessna with 16 points and Noah Wilson with 15 in the low scoring affair. Also, congratulations to Cessna, who was selected as a LIC Student-Athlete Scholarship recipient and was introduced before the game.

The championship was the second in a row for the Indians and was the first time a repeat champion was crowned since Casey-Westfield in 2020-21. The Indians return to action at home Tuesday with non-conference play against Cisne.