8th Grade Eagles win SRC tourney

Published 1:36 pm Thursday, February 6, 2020

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The Lincoln County Middle School boys’ basketball teams claimed a 1-2 finish in the Salt River Conference Postseason Tournament finals, with the eighth-grade Eagles emerging as champions in their division and the sixth-grade team finishing as runner-up in its division in the tourney played at Anderson County Middle School.

The LCMS eighth-grade team clinched the SRC title with a 59-46 win over Danville Bate Middle School while the sixth-grade team saw its tourney run end in a heartbreaking 44-43 finals loss to West Jessamine Middle School.

The eighth-grade Eagles (29-5) led after every quarterstop, using a 20-11 second-quarter scoring surge to distance themselves from the Bulldogs in the championship game. Lincoln led 14-10 after the first and used the second-quarter run to post a 34-21 halftime advantage.

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Bate would outscore Lincoln 16-12 in the third quarter but the Eagles maintained a 46-37 lead. Lincoln came back to outpoint its opponent 13-9 in the final period to secure the double-digit win.

Four Eagles hit double figures in the win, led by Seth Horton with 18 points. Jackson Withrow finished the game with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Connor Davis and Sawyer Horton added 10 points each. Davis also had five assists.

Elan Lane finished with four points, six rebounds and three assists and Blade Nuckols had one point.

Lincoln, led by coach Eric Ralston, was the Salt River Conference regular-season champion, 12th Region Tournament runner-up and KBC Invitational Tournament runner-up.

It proved to be a back-and-forth battle between Lincoln and West Jessamine in the sixth-grade title tilt before West claimed the win.

The sixth-grade Eagles trailed at the end of the first and second quarters. West led 13-8 after the first but Lincoln edged West 8-6 in the second period to get within 19-16 at the break.

Lincoln (31-10) had erased the deficit by the end of the third quarter, using a 14-10 scoring edge to nose ahead 30-29 going into the fourth quarter. But West would outscore Lincoln 15-13 in the final period to seal the one-point, 44-43, win.

Mason Agee double-doubled to lead Lincoln, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Desalagne Pendygraft also hit double figures, finishing with 12 points.

Rounding out Lincoln’s scoring were Landon Smith with eight points, Lane Sergent with four points, Jayden McAdoo with three points and Johnny Adkins with one point. McAdoo also had six rebounds.

Lincoln, led by coach Lewis Cummins, was the Salt River Conference regular-season runner-up and 12th Region Tournament champion.

Results from the sixth- and eighth-grade Eagles semifinal games with Danville Bate Middle School and Anderson County Middle School follow:

Salt River Conference Semifinals

At Lincoln Co.

6th Grade

Lincoln 50, Bate 43

Bate 8 9 2 24 – 43

Lincoln 11 12 15 12 – 50

Lincoln stats: Mason Agee 15 points and 6 rebounds, Desalagne Pendygraft 12 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals, Jayden McAdoo 7 points and 6 rebounds, Landon Smith 6 points, Ansh Patel 5 points, Lane Sergent 3 points, 3 assists and 3 steals, Johnny Adkins 2 points.

8th Grade

Lincoln 51, Anderson 38

Anderson 12 13 8 5 – 38

Lincoln 21 6 7 17 – 51

Lincoln stats: Jackson Withrow 14 points, Blade Nuckols 13 points, Seth Horton 11 points and 3 assists, Sawyer Horton 9 points and 12 rebounds, Elan Lane 2 points and 4 steals, Andrew Simmerman 2 points.