Two games in the span of five days against the same team netted entirely different results for Lawrenceville High School’s boys’ basketball team last week.
The Indians played Robinson twice last week and came out 1-1 in those contests.
Two games in the span of five days against the same team netted entirely different results for Lawrenceville High School’s boys’ basketball team last week.
The Indians played Robinson twice last week and came out 1-1 in those contests.
In their regular season Little Illini Conference meeting Jan. 17, the Indians sputtered in the second half, allowing Robinson to pull away for a 59-42 win.
“We knew we were going to have to shoot a high percentage to beat them and we shot like 30 percent,” LHS head coach Randy Bishop said. “We had good looks, we just couldn’t get them to fall.”
More than two minutes went by before either team scored, but once the points started coming, the teams went back-and-forth pretty much through the entire first half. There were 13 lead change and three ties through the first two quarters, with Robinson leading at each quarter stop, 14-12 after one and 26-25 at halftime.
Robinson scored the first five points of the third quarter to push their lead to six, then after a Maddox Pargin three-pointer, the Maroons went on a 14-3 run over the final 5:15 to extend their advantage to 45-31 heading into the fourth quarter. In the middle of that run, Leyton Ivers was injured diving for a loose ball and had to leave the game to receive medical attention for a cut to the back of his head and did not return.
The Indians tried to hang around, getting as close as 11 early in the fourth quarter, but the Maroons won the final period 14-11 to seal the win.
Pargin led LHS with 23 points, three rebounds, two steals, two assists and one blocked shot, while Jenkins posted 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots, Ivers contributed four points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal, Landon Sanders collected three points, four rebounds, one steal and one assist and Parker Hardiman recorded two points, three steals, one rebound, one assist and one blocked shot.
Loll led Robinson with 23 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and one steal, while Noah Gilmore posted 17 points, six rebounds and one assist.
Lawrenceville also lost the junior varsity game, 52-30.
Wyatt Halter led LHS with 13 points, while Jayden Goff scored five.
In Saturday’s rematch in the quarterfinals of the LIC Tournament at Olney, the Indians exacted some revenge, pulling out a 58-56 victory in overtime.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” Bishop said. “They really laid it out there and played their hearts out.”
The Indians came out firing, using a 12-0 run in the middle of the first quarter to take a 15-6 lead and still held a 15-10 advantage at the end of the first period. However, Robinson seized control in the second period, using a 10-0 run of their own to take a 22-17 lead and they would lead by as many as seven late in the period before a basket by Jenkins cut the margin to 26-21 at halftime.
The Indians responded in the third quarter, using a 7-0 run to regain the lead, 30-29, with 3:41 left, then the lead see-sawed back-and-forth, with the Maroons getting a three-pointer from Loll just before the buzzer to take a 36-35 edge into fourth quarter.
Lawrenceville scored the first three points of the fourth quarter to regain the lead, then after a Robinson basket tied it, Sanders knocked down a three-pointer for a 41-38 LHS lead with 5:47 remaining. The Indians would lead by four with less than four minutes to play, but five straight points by Robinson’s Judson Pinkston put the Maroons in front, 44-43, with 3:01 to play.
A free throw by Wyatt Halter tied the score at 44-44 with 2:34 left, then the teams traded baskets to keep the score tied at 46-46. Jenkins then made two free throws with 1:41 left to put LHS back in front, but Robinson’s Aidan Parker countered with two free throws of his own at the 1:26 mark to tie the score once again.
Sanders would miss a three-point attempt with a minute left and Robinson rebounded, then held the ball to take the final shot. After a time-out with 11.1 seconds remaining, Loll found Gilmore underneath the basket and he was fouled with 0.2 seconds remaining.
Things looked bleak at that moment for the Indians, as all Gilmore had to do was make one free throw to clinch the win for the Maroons, as .2 seconds was not enough time for the Indians to get an actual shot off. However, Gilmore missed both free throws and the game went to overtime tied at 48-48.
A basket by Gilmore to start the extra session gave Robinson a 50-48 lead, then Hardiman hit two free throws to tie the game. After a basket by Loll put Robinson back in front, Sanders drained a three to give the Indians a 53-52 lead with 2:51 remaining. A basket by Parker gave the lead back to Robinson, but only briefly, as Ivers scored inside to put LHS back on top, 55-54, with 1:43 remaining. Another basket by Loll at the 1:00 mark gave Robinson a 56-55 lead, then Jenkins was fouled with 31.4 seconds left and he made both free throws to give LHS a 57-56 lead. Sanders then stripped the ball from Loll on a drive to the basket and he was fouled with 14.5 seconds remaining, but he would miss both foul shots and Robinson rebounded, then called time-out with 7.9 seconds left to set up a final play. However, Robinson would turn the ball over on the ensuing possession, giving the ball back to the Indians with 2.6 seconds left. Jenkins was fouled with two seconds on the clock and he would hit the first free throw, but missed the second. Robinson called time-out with 1.5 seconds left and was able to get the ball to Loll near midcourt on the inbounds pass, but his long heave was both after the buzzer and off the mark, allowing the Indians to hold on for the win.
“We got down, but we didn’t quit,” Bishop said. “I’m glad we pulled this one off.”
Sanders led LHS with 21 points, two rebounds and two steals, while Jenkins posted 19 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists. Ivers contributed 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, Hardiman recorded four points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist, Pargin collected two points, six rebounds, one steal, one assist and one blocked shot and Halter netted one point, one rebound and one blocked shot.
Parker led Robinson with 18 points, 11 rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot, while Loll contributed 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
In other quarterfinal action Saturday, top-seeded Olney hammered eighth-seeded Marshall 63-31, second-seeded Casey-Westfield downed seventh-seeded Paris, 48-35 and third-seeded Newton edged sixth-seeded Mt. Carmel, 57-55, in overtime.
Meanwhile, Robinson beat Marhall, 76-53 and Mt. Carmel downed Paris, 59-49, in consolation action Monday.
Lawrenceville (18-4) played Olney in the semifinals of the LIC Tournament Tuesday. A win would put the Indians in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Friday, while a loss would send the Indians to the third-place game Friday at 6 p.m.
At Robinson
Lawrenceville 12 13 6 11 - 42
Robinson 14 12 19 14 - 59
LAWRENCEVILLE (42)
Parker Hardiman 1-3 0-2 0-0 2, Landon Sanders 0-4 1-6 0-0 3, Leyton Ivers 2-5 0-0 0-0 4, Wyatt Halter 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Jayden Goff 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Zander Cessna 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Worstell 0-0 0-1 0-0 0, Evan Daugherty 0-0 0-1 0-0 0, Bryant Jenkins 2-6 2-6 0-0 10, Maddox Pargin 2-8 5-9 4-4 23, Emery Ivers 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, TOTALS 7-26 2FG, 8-26 3FG, 4-4 FT, 42 TP.
ROBINSON (59)
Cooper Loll 5-10 3-8 4-5 23, Duke Thompson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Judson Pinkston 1-3 0-1 2-3 4, Luke Wernz 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Owen Schmidt 0-1 3-5 0-0 9, Donnie Tillman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Wernz 2-6 0-0 0-0 4, Noah Gilmore 7-9 0-0 3-4 17, Korbin Rawlings 0-3 0-0 0-0 0, Daniel Sparks 1-1 0-0 0-0 2, Aidan Parker 0-2 0-2 0-0 0, Chayse Aldrich 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, TOTALS 16-35 2FG, 6-16 3FG, 9-12 FT, 59 TP.
Turnovers - LHS 9, RHS 12. Team fouls - LHS 10, RHS 11. Fouled out - none. Technical foul - none. Rebounds - (LHS 22) Jenkins 8, L. Ivers 6, Sanders 4, Pargin 3, Hardiman. (RHS 42) Loll 14, N. Wernz 7, Gilmore 6, Parker 4, Pinkston 4, Schmidt 3, Rawlings 3, Tillman. Steals - (LHS 9) Hardiman 3, Jenkins 2, Pargin 2, Sanders, L. Ivers. (RHS 5) Pinkston 2, Loll, Thompson, N. Wernz. Assists - (LHS 10) Jenkins 4, Pargin 2, L. Ivers 2, Sanders, Hardiman. (RHS 13) Loll 4, Parker 3, Schmidt 2, Pinkston, Gilmore, L. Wernz, Tillman. Blocked shots - (LHS 4) Jenkins 2, Pargin, Hardiman. (RHS 2) Loll 2.
Junior Varsity
Lawrenceville 15 4 7 4 - 30
Robinson 12 15 11 14 - 52
Highlights - (LHS) Emery Ivers 4 points; Zander Cessna 4 points; Wyatt Halter 13 points; Jayden Goff 5 points; Noah Wilson 2 points; Jacek Mickiewicz 2 points.
2023 Little Illini Conference Boys Basketball Tournament
At Ron Herrin Gym, Olney
Robinson 10 16 10 12 8 - 56
Lawrenceville 15 6 14 13 10 - 58
ROBINSON (56)
Cooper Loll 6-9 1-9 0-2 15, Duke Thompson 0-0 0-1 0-0 0, Judson Pinkston 3-5 0-2 1-1 7, Owen Schmidt 0-2 1-7 0-0 3, Nate Wernz 2-5 0-0 2-4 6, Noah Gilmore 3-5 0-0 1-4 7, Aidan Parker 7-11 0-1 4-4 18, TOTALS 21-37 2FG, 2-20 3FG, 8-15 FT, 56 TP.
LAWRENCEVILLE (58)
Parker Hardiman 1-3 0-0 2-2 4, Landon Sanders 0-3 7-14 0-4 21, Leyton Ivers 4-8 0-0 3-4 11, Wyatt Halter 0-1 0-1 1-2 1, Bryant Jenkins 7-8 0-2 5-6 19, Maddox Pargin 0-4 0-6 2-2 2, TOTALS 12-27 2FG, 7-23 3FG, 13-20 FT, 58 TP.
Turnovers - RHS 16, LHS 13. Team fouls - RHS 16, LHS 15. Fouled out - Pargin. Technical foul - none. Rebounds - (RHS 42) Parker 11, Loll 11, Gilmore 9, Wernz 5, Schmidt 4, Pinkston 2. (LHS 30) Jenkins 11, Pargin 6, Ivers 6, Hardiman 4, Sanders 2, Halter. Steals - (RHS 7) Loll 3, Wernz 2, Gilmore, Schmidt. (LHS 11) Jenkins 4, Hardiman 2, Sanders 2, Ivers 2, Pargin. Assists - (RHS 12) Loll 5, Schmidt 2, Pinkston 2, Wernz 2, Parker. (LHS 7) Ivers 3, Jenkins 2, Pargin, Hardiman. Blocked shots - (RHS 1) Loll. (LHS 2) Pargin, Halter.
