Kankakee stays hot with senior night blowout over Crete-Monee

As his profile has risen into becoming one of the top boys basketball talents in the Midwest, Lincoln Williams hasn’t just seen scholarship offers from colleges around the country come his way, but from prep schools throughout the nation as well.

But he never took them. He and his Kankakee senior boys basketball teammates are too busy looking to make history as not just the program’s best team ever, but the first one to win a state title.

“I could have gone to any prep school or academy I wanted to,” Williams said. “But I stuck it out with my guys and I’m glad I did. … I’ve been with these guys since second, third grade."

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Kankakee's Cedric Terrell III elevates for a lay-up past Crete- Monee's Zhakeem Cole, left, in a game on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Nicholas Holstein for Shaw Local)

Williams’ sizzling senior season continued in Friday’s 67-35 Southland Athletic Conference win over Crete-Monee on Kankakee’s senior night. He paced the Kays (13-1, 5-0) with 22 points, four rebounds and an assist in front of a jam-packed senior night crowd.

The love and ovations Williams and his classmates received during their pregame ceremony and throughout the course of a game that the Kays blew open with a 17-2 second-quarter run is a close second reason Williams will graduate from Kankakee this spring.

“I’m always going to remember where I came from,” Williams said. “I’m going to always show support just like they always show me support.”

The Kays’ five starters accounted for all 67 points, and after Williams’ continuation of 20-plus points in every game this season, the scoring was balanced. Kenaz Jackson had 13 points to go with six rebounds and four assists, Cedric Terrell III had 12 points, EJ Hazelett added 11 and Myair Thompson had nine.

Kankakee's Cedric Terrell III, left, and EJ Hazelett, right, try to contain a loose ball over Crete Monee's Zyheir Gardner, center, in a game on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Nicholas Holstein for Shaw Local)

But it’s the defensive side where the Kays made their mark. After leading just 11-4 after a quarter, their 17-2 run began started when they scored 10 straight points off of five Warriors (9-7, 1-3) turnovers, a run that only continued until the running clock came in the fourth quarter.

“That first half was as good a defensive half as we’ve had all season,” Kays coach Chris Pickett said. “We’ve had some good ones, but this one was special. Our intensity was good, the attention to detail was good. We made them look uncomfortable in situations they’ve looked comfortable in all season.”

Hazelett led the defensive charge with four steals, but each starting Kay had at least two, as they forced 15 of the Warriors’ 22 turnovers in the first half and totaled 20 points off of those turnovers.

Kankakee's Kenaz Jackson Jr. makes a break toward the net past Crete-Monee's Uriel Chapman, right, in a game on Friday, January 9, 2026. (Nicholas Holstein for Shaw Local)

The last of those steals came from Hazelett, who was a step inside the half-court line when he flung a lob high into the air, where Williams lept up, cocked back a bit after he caught it, and sent every able body in the Kankakee gym to their feet with a slam that would have scored perfect 50s in plenty of dunk contests.

“It’s crazy,” Hazelett said of Williams’ athleticism. “He’s one of the most athletic players in the country. That he can make plays like that is a great help to the team.”

The Kays will hit the road Tuesday to take on defending IHSA Class 4A fourth-place finisher Rich Township in a battle of Southland unbeatens that will give one team an advantage ahead of the stretch run.

While the Kays went 73-22 during Williams’ first three seasons, there are two accomplishments he and the Kays haven’t gotten to yet, a Southland title and a Class 3A State championship.

“Conference, state, I want to win everything,” Williams said. “I want to go out with a bang.”