4 Pats in double figures as Lincoln takes care of East Jessamine 72-37
Published 3:05 pm Thursday, December 20, 2018
Photos by Nancy Leedy BLAKE SMITH of Lincoln County passes to teammate Jaxon Smith during first-half action Tuesday at LCHS. Blake Smith had 15 points in the win and Jaxon Smith had 11 points.
STANFORD — Junior center Riley Bodner posted 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting, wiped up on the boards with a game-high 13 rebounds and had two blocks across 19 minutes in Lincoln’s 72-37 win over visiting East Jessamine Tuesday.
Bodner was one of four Patriots hitting double figures against the Jaguars. Blake Smith matched Bodner’s point total, going 6-for-13 from the field, 3-for-7 from 3-point range, for his 15 points, Elijah Frye knocked down 13 points, going 6-for-10 from the field, and Jaxon Smith had 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting and a 3-for-7 stint at the line.
Two other Patriots came oh-so-close to double digits with both Bryston Alcorn and Darius Napier contributing nine points in the win.
“We had real good balance tonight,” Lincoln coach Jeff Jackson said. “We shared the ball. We had 13 assists. We passed the ball pretty good. It was a good balance offensively.”
Lincoln, which led 15-14 at the end of the first quarter, used an 18-2 run in the second quarter to break open the close game and set the Patriots on course for the big win.
East Jessamine (4-5) had just nosed ahead 18-17 on a Zion Thomas basket when Napier drove inside to ignite the 18-2 scoring surge. Jaxon Smith and Blake Smith both scored four points in the run, all off turnovers, Bodner hit twice in the paint, Alcorn scored on a putback and Napier closed with two free throws to give the Patriots (5-3) a 35-20 advantage at the half.
East never threatened in the second half. The Patriot defense held the Jaguars to single-digit scoring in the final two periods, outscoring them 20-9 in the third quarter and 17-8 in the fourth and leading by as many as 37 points before the horn sounded on the victory.
“We played pretty well and did some good things,” said Jackson. “It was start to finish. We told our kids we needed a 32-minute game tonight. And I thought we got that. We played harder, moved the ball better, played together. It was a good balance offensively and I thought our defensive effort was good. Our energy was good. Bryson Yaden was all over the floor. Elijah was all over the floor. Just a good win.”
Lincoln shot 49.2 percent from the field overall, connecting on 30 of 61 shot attempts, 4 of 17 from 3-point range, while holding East Jessamine to 29.5 percent shooting, 13-for-44 from 2-points out, 4-for-13 from 3. At the line, the Pats were 8-for-13 and the Jags were 7-for-13.
Ben McNew led East in scoring with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range. The sophomore guard drained his first 3-pointer at the 3:48 mark of the first period to kick off an 8-2 Jaguar run and capped the run with his second trey at the 1:45 mark for the game’s only tie, 12-12.
The Patriots scored another victory on the glass, outrebounding the Jaguars 36-26. Frye and Napier had six rebounds apiece for Lincoln. Tyler Pitney, who finished with 12 points (4-for-14 from the field, 4-for-5 at the line), led the Jags on the boards with eight rebounds.
Patriot basketball fans may have noticed the absence of Sawyer Carrier Tuesday night, and that Yaden was wearing his “22” jersey. The Patriots lost the senior forward to a serious injury in Friday night’s loss at Eastern.
“We miss Sawyer,” Jackson said. “He sustained a bad break at Louisville Eastern Saturday. He went up for rebound, come down with the ball and, as he was coming back down, Darius was knocked into his leg, his foot was this way and then Sawyer fell backward. We knew it was bad as soon as he went down because he was in an awkward position. You know when you see those things on the NFL and you think, ‘Ohmigosh!’ Well, it was an ‘Ohmigosh!’ moment. He’s out for at least three months.”
“Bryson’s wearing his number as a tribute to him and the boys are rallying around this. We miss him in the locker room. We just wish him the best. Hopefully he has a good recovery.”
At Lincoln Co.
East Jess. 14 6 9 8 – 37
Lincoln 15 20 20 17 – 72
EAST JESSAMINE (3-5) – Tyler Pitney 12, Zion Thomas 2, Cam Thompson 1, Ben McNew 13, Michael Powell 5, Jaylen Taylor 2, Braden Embry 2.
LINCOLN (5-3) – Bryston Alcorn 9, Blake Smith 15, Elijah Frye 13, Jaxon Smith 11, Darius Napier 9, Riley Bodner 15.
