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STANFORD — The Lincoln County boys basketball team grabbed an early lead Saturday night and didn’t let go of it to earn a 47-44 win over Campbellsville in its own Patriot Classic.

Lincoln, which improved to 9-3 with the win, jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first quarter and needed every point of that early lead to hold off Campbellsville, as the visiting Tigers pulled within seven points at the half then outscored the Patriots in the second half to threaten late.

Kameron Smith, who led Cabmpbellsville with a game-high 17 points on 6-for-16 shooting, 5-for-12 from 3-point range, bombed in three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help whittle a 41-33 Pat lead to just 46-44 with 14.5 seconds to play.

Freshman reserve Colton Ralston, who came off the Lincoln bench to score 10 points, sank a free throw with 7.6 seconds to make it 47-44, Patriots. But the Tigers had possession in the closing seconds and the opportunity to tie the game. However, there would be no tie or even a shot for a tie as Elijah Frye stole the ball away to run out the clock.

Frye paced Lincoln in the win with 12 points on 3-for-8 shooting. He was 6-for-7 at the foul line. He also had six rebounds. Bryston Alcorn and Ralston both finished with 10 points. Alcorn was 3-for-10 from the field and 2-for-4 at the line.He also had four rebounds. Ralston was 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 4-for-5 at the line.

The Patriots led 18-11 after the first quarter. Riley Bodner, who finished with nine points and a game-high 11 boards, scored four points in Lincoln’s early 13-2 run. Alcorn hit a game-opening 3-pointer then added a field goal and Frye got two free throws and a layup.

Mikael Vaught, who had 10 points for the Tigers on 5-for-13 shooting, powered Campbellsville’s late surge in the first with a three-point play, a 3-point goal and a free throw toss to pull the Tigers within 15-9 with 1:10 to play. Alcorn nailed a 3-pointer to push Lincoln’s lead back to seven, 18-9, but Mark Rigsby closed the first-quarter scoring with a bucket to make it 18-11.

Smith opened the second-quarter scoring with a bucket to get Campbellsville as close as 18-13. Five points would be as close as the Tigers would get in the period. The margin remained at seven at the break with both teams scoring 10 points for a 28-21 margin at the half.

Campbellsville (4-8) got the second half started with a 5-0 run. Vaught drove inside for a layup then followed with a 3-pointer to cut the Lincoln lead to 28-26 with 4:19 left in the third.

After a scoreless start to the third, Lincoln’s Ralston and Mattingly drained 3-point goals to extend the Pat lead to 34-27. But Smith answered with two 3s of his own to keep the Tigers within 36-33.

The third quarter ended at the foul line, with Frye sinking two free throws to put Lincoln on  top 38-33 and set the stage for Campbellsville’s fourth-quarter rally effort.

Campbellsville outshot Lincoln from the field, going 36 percent overall (16-for-45, 9-for-20 from 3-point range) while the Patriots were at 30 percent (13-for-43, 5-for-20 from 3). The Pats made up for their poor shooting with a 16-for-22 effort at the foul line. The Tigers were 3-for-11 at the line.

Patriot Classic

C-ville 11 10 12 11 – 44 Lincoln 18 10 10 9 – 47

C-VILLE (4-8) – Kameron Smith 17, Mikael Vaught 16, Malachi Corley 7, Mark Rigsby 2, Noah Huges 2.

LINCOLN (9-3) – Elijah Frye 12, Bryston Alcorn 10, Colton Ralston 10, Riley Bodner 9, Tramane Alcorn 3, Baylor Mattingly 3.