Lincoln County saaw an early exit in the KBA 7th Grade Middle School State Tournament, with the Eagles ousted in the first round of the single-elimination tourney in Lexington.

Lincoln, which is coached by Carl-Lewis Cummins, was knocked out of contention for the state title in a 46-42 loss to Corbin Middle School.

The Eagles (29-4) led at the end of the first two quarterstops, edging Corbin 14-12 in the first period then using a 12-7 second-quarter scoring run to post a 26-19 halftime lead.

Corbin would take the second half, though. Corbin outscored Lincoln 16-11 in the third quarter to get within 37-35 heading into the fourth quarter then closed on an 11-5 run to claim the victory.

Tramane Alcorn poured in 16 points to lead Lincoln in the game. Zack Moore, Jansen McAninch and Layne Lark contributed eight points apiece. Moore also had five rebounds and four assists, McAninch got four steals and Lark had three steals. Colton Ralston rounded out the team scoring with two points. He also had five rebounds.

Results from Friday’s Pool Play games follow:

Pool Play Game #1
Lincoln 59, Morton 37

Lincoln opened the 7th Grade Middle School State Tournament with a 59-37 win Friday night over Morton Middle School of Lexington.  

The Eagles led 17-12 at the end of the first quarter and took a 32-23 lead into the break.

Lincoln blew the game open in the third period of play, using a 13-2 surge to extend its lead to 20 points, 45-25, going into the final period. Morton’s offense improved in the fourth quarter but Lincoln still outpointed their opponent, 14-12, to earn the double-digit win.

Layne Lark and Tramane Alcorn combined for 32 points and 10 rebounds in the win, with Lark finishing with 19 points and five rebounds and Alcorn getting 13 points and five rebounds, along with four assists and two steals. 

Colton Ralston added nine points with five rebounds and five assists, Jansen McAninch had six points and two steals, Zack Moore scored four points, Trevor Miracle and Bo Wallin each had three points and Jason Petrey had two points.

Pool Play Game #2
Lincoln 45, McCreary 26

The Eagle seventh-graders posted a convincing win in Game #2 of Pool Play, handily defeating McCreary County Middle School 45-26.

Lincoln exploded out to a 20-5 start and McCreary never threatened.

The Eagles held McCreary to single-digit scoring in every quarter. Lincoln outscored McCreary 13-6 in the second quarter to post a 33-11 halftime lead and used a 10-7 run in the third to push the lead to 43-18. 

McCreary did outscore Lincoln 8-4 in the final period, but it was too little, too late to overtake the Eagles.

Lincoln had two players in double figures in the win, with Layne Lark leading the team with 14 points and Tramane Alcorn following with 10 points. Lark also had five rebounds and three steals and Alcorn added four assists.

Zack Moore just missed double figures, finishing with nine points. He also had eight rebounds. Colton Ralston finished with five points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks, Jansen McAninch had three points and Trevor Miracle and Jackson Sims had two points apiece.