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KANKAKEE – Ever since head coach Chris Pickett came to town in 2017, Kankakee’s boys basketball team has prioritized its defensive excellence above anything else. And in the second quarter of Tuesday’s home Southland Athletic Conference clash with Crete-Monee, Pickett may have seen that defensive standard hit a crescendo.
The Kays held the Warriors to a goose egg in the second frame, turning a 15-12 deficit to open the second into a 25-15 halftime lead, a lead they never lost on the way to a 65-50 victory.
It was the ninth straight win for a Kankakee team that’s now 21-3 and 9-1 in the Southland, a half-game up in the win column over Rich Township for the conference lead. The Warriors fell to 17-10 (5-4).
“They had one kid (Jayden Preston) who came out and knocked down a couple of 3s, and we weren’t paying attention to him,” Pickett said. “We had to give him some extra attention in that quarter, and that ended up being the difference in coming into halftime up seven instead of being down. Defensively, we wanted to really zero in on what our gameplan was, and that was to make things difficult for them.”
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Kays junior guard Lincoln Williams, who spearheaded an efficient Kankakee offense with 26 points, credited Cedric Terrell III for coming off the bench with a spark the team needed.
“Cedric Terrell came in with a lot of energy off the bench,” Williams said. “Our bench, our manager, they’re all giving us support. That’s something we take pride in.
On the offensive end, Williams' 26 points came on a 9-for-15 (60%) night from the field, including 2-for-4 from deep, as well as a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
For Pickett, Williams' night was a reflection of the offense as a whole. They were 21-for-39 (54%) from the field, with 12 of those baskets coming with assists.
“We had a nice flow offensively,” Pickett said. “ ... We were able to reverse the ball, get court reversals, and when we get court reversals, [Williams] is able to sweep and attack. There aren’t too many people that are gonna be able to go up and contest him when he’s making plays like that.”
Kenaz Jackson joined his junior classmate in double figures, finishing with 15 points and a trio of 3-pointers. Williams collected 13 boards as well for a double-double effort, adding three steals and a pair of blocks on the defensive end.
As the Kays, the No. 4 team in the IHSA Class 3A AP Poll, look to keep their winning streak going over the stretch run of the season, they’ll look to do so with another conference home game against Thornridge at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday before they visit the last team to beat them, Rich Township.
The Raptors, the No. 10 team in Class 4A, earned a 67-65 win at Kankakee on Jan. 14. After the de facto Southland title game Friday, the Kays will round out the regular season against Richwoods, who ended their season in the sectional semifinals last year, at the Watchfire Shootout in Danville Feb. 15 and with a trip to Waubonsie Valley, the No. 8 team in Class 4A, Feb. 17.
“We’ve had impressive wins, we’ve handled our business out of conference, handled our business in conference,” Pickett said. “I think our resume is as impressive as anyone in the state of Illinois right now. We’re angling for that No. 1 seed in our sub-sectional and see where it goes from there, but we’ve still got a couple of big fish we’re gonna try and reel in.”