Local musician Jim Duff has the blues

Comment by drzrocks: Wednesday, July 14

I never heard anything impressive on his site at all....read more...

Humane Society comes under fire in local farming magazine

Comment by Truthseekerme: Thursday, July 8

Patti Strand, of the National Animal Interest Alliance, author of "The Hijacking of the Humane Movem...read more...

Humane Society comes under fire in local farming magazine

Comment by HillaryatHSUS: Wednesday, July 7

I work at the HSUS, and I’ve also worked at several animal shelters. Shelters do great work – ad...read more...

» Read more recent story comments
» Register for your account

The Lincoln County Patriots celebrated Senior Night with a 73-66 victory over the Danville Admirals Friday at LCHS.

Lincoln, which led by as many as 13 points in the first half, saw a double-digit lead dwindle to two points in the fourth, but the Patriots dropped anchor on the Admiral rally effort to hold on for the 45th District win.

“It was a good win for our kids. I thought we played hard,” said Lincoln coach Jeff Jackson. “I thought we showed some resolve – some focus and toughness tonight. When we got up, they made a run but then we made plays when we had to make plays.”

Danville (10-12, 2-4 district) trailed 49-39 when it began its comeback late in the third. Jacody Taylor, who finished with 14 points, and Tryston Ford, who had 10, scored the last six points of the frame, closing with a four-point play by Ford off a Zack Hill foul which made it 49-45. A bucket in the paint by Colin Turner to open the fourth quarter put the margin at 49-47.

After the Admirals closed the gap, Hill, who scored 22 points and had seven rebounds to lead Lincoln, drove inside for two off a Cooper assist then followed with a dish to Cooper to extend the lead back to 53-47.

But Danville wouldn’t go away.

Tevin Raines, who scored 10 fourth-quarter points for the Ads, tallied six straight points midway of the fourth then Turner stepped to the line for a free throw to make it a two-point ballgame, 56-54, once again.

Matt DeBord, a senior reserve, followed Turner’s free throw toss with one of his own and Cooper added two more. Cooper, a senior guard who finished with 19 points, then drained his third trey of the night off a Hill assist and followed with a driving layup to push the Pat lead back to nine, 64-55, with 2:05 to play.

Lincoln (15-9, 5-1 district) never trailed by less than five points the rest of the way, using a 7-for-12 stint at the foul line in the final 1:27 to preserve the win.

“We handled them a little bit and they cut it down. We extended it, they made another run. It was a heckuva game,” said Jackson. “They’re a good team. They’re very athletic. They’re well-coached. And they play hard. We knew this would be a fight.”

The Lincoln mentor said his team let Danville’s dominating presence on the boards – 38-20 – keep the Admirals within striking distance. Of the 38 Ad rebounds, 20 were offensive boards.

“They really hurt us on the glass, especially the offensive glass,” Jackson said. “That’s an area of concern for us, is the rebounding. We’ve got to do a better job of keeping them off the glass.”

Danville had a lot of misses to go after throughout the night, going 24-for-68 from the field. Turner led the Admirals on the boards with 12 rebounds, six offensive. Cam Burgess collected five of his seven rebounds on offense. Burgess had 10 points.

The only time Lincoln trailed in the district game was in the first quarter. Taylor hit the opening bucket to put Danville up 2-0 then converted on a three-point play midway of the period to cap off a 6-0 run and turn an 11-6 deficit into a 12-11 lead. Elmore, who had 14 points for the Ads, drove inside to make it 14-11 with 3:10 to go.

A 14-2 Lincoln run over the closing three minutes erased the Admiral lead. Trenton Edgington tied the game at 14-all with a 3-pointer and Hill followed with a three-point play to put Lincoln on top to stay. Senior guard Colby Long, who scored 16 points for the Pats, scored five points in the run, nailing a triple off an Edgington assist and hitting a jumper off a turnover. Cooper drove the lane for two points and DeBord sank a foul shot to put the Pats up 25-16.

A Cooper trey a minute into the second quarter gave Lincoln its biggest lead of the game, 30-17. The Patriots were up 35-23 with 2:22 to go in the half when Danville went on an 8-0 run. Ford and Elmore had two free throws apiece in the run and Burgess scored back-to-back goals for a 37-31 halftime score.

Lincoln posted its first 10-point lead of the second half, 45-35, with 4:50 to go in the third when Edgington bombed in his second trey. The last 10-point lead was posted at 1:52 when Hill hit to make it 49-39.

Lincoln was 21 of 44 from the field overall and 22 of 35 from the foul line. Danville was 16-for-23 at the line.

“It was a good way for our seniors to finish their careers – here at home on their floor. And it was a big district game for us, too,” said Jackson.

All of Lincoln’s seniors – Cooper, Long, DeBord, Joseph Vanhook and Dylan Allison – saw some action in Friday’s game, even with Allison’s blown knee. He came in with just seconds to go and took his spot on the floor.

“He’s finished and he can’t play, but I told him I’d put him in as long as he didn’t move,” said Jackson. “He and Joseph got in late. Those are two great kids that have been a big part of our program for for years. I’m going to miss them.”

“I’m going to miss them all,” he said. “The seniors. I love them. They’re a lot of fun to be around. Hopefully, we’ve got a lot of basketball left. We just don’t have anymore in this building.”

Story comments

No comments on this article yet.

Posting comments on this web site requires free registration.

• Create your account
• Log in to your account