HUNTSVILLE -- Lincoln shooting went ice cold putting no points up in the last 5:24 of the second quarter while Huntsville went on a 13-0 run to win 62-40 on Friday.
Shandon Goldman's bucket in the paint drew Lincoln within, 21-18, with 2:35 elapsed in the second period but by the time Lincoln put their next points on the board with a pair of Goldman foul shots nearly a minute into the third quarter they trailed 37-20 and were never in the game after that.
Playing on the road, the Wolves didn't get calls to go their way. Lincoln fans complained to no avail over three no-calls occurring in the paint with Garrett Blankenship going up against Huntsville center, Jose Aguilar, and drawing contact each time which resulted in missed shots. This may have been a psychological factor contributing to the extended cold spell. The first such occurrence happened at the 2:12 mark of the first period. After Aguilar muscled in a field goal on the low block to push Huntsville ahead, 8-6, Lincoln attacked him on the other end with Blankenship getting the ball in the paint and going up strong.
The strategy was negated by the lack of fouls called which would have changed the complexion of the contest in the first half and River Gosvener's 3-pointer opened up an 11-6 advantage for the Eagles but Lincoln responded with an 8-2 run over the last 1:38 of the opening quarter.
Blankenship grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to Goldman, who nailed a 3-pointer. Cord McCaslin boxed out and cleared a defensive rebound on Huntsville's next offensive set drawing a foul which led to a Blankenship bucket in the key on the other end tying the game at 11-all.
Caleb Kirk slid in from the left corner, caught the ball and made a lay-in for Huntsville but Lincoln went ahead with 19 seconds to go as the quarter wound down when Goldman caught a lob on the left side of the basket and evaded defenders by extending his 6-foot-9 frame to go up on the right side and score. He was fouled and converted a free throw for a 14-13 Lincoln lead.
Goldman forced Aguilar to miss at the buzzer and the Wolves were in front by one at the quarter break. Kirk again scored this time off a lob to begin the second period yet Lincoln would regain the lead once again when point guard Roni Castaneda used dribble penetration and a look-off to set up Blankenship for an inside basket and a 16-15 Lincoln advantage on an in-bounds play.
Huntsville's 13-0 second quarter run was capped by Christian Cain's 3-point shot with five seconds showing and pushed the Eagles out to a 34-18 halftime lead. The field goal was made possible by an error at the scorer's table. After Lincoln took the ball out of bounds the clock stopped on 7:27 and did not restart during Castaneda's assist to Blankenship and remained that way for nearly two minutes during which time Huntsville recorded a 3-pointer by Jack Eaton and another Kirk catch and shoot.
The clock was finally started on Kirk's field goal attempt but immediately stopped again with a foul called and displayed 7:26 as Kirk converted 1 of 2 free throws. At that juncture the ball had made three trips up and down the court without time running off. Lincoln never recovered and Huntsville won 62-40 to record a conference win.
The extended cold snap caught Lincoln coach Tim Rich off guard. At times Lincoln played tentative and passed up shots Rich would have preferred they take.
"I think Huntsville shot 58 percent and we shot 30 percent," Rich said.
"They've been cold before but never that cold," Rich said, explaining at halftime he tried to get the team reoriented offensively.
"I told the boys to do the regular thing, to try and get shots," Rich said, emphasizing. "We need more young men trying to be more of an offensive threat."
Goldman led Lincoln with 19 points including a 10 of 11 performance at the foul line. Blankenship chipped in 8 points; Castaneda, 6; Dalton Barnum, 3; Alec Pitts, 2; and McCaslin, 2. The Wolves went 10 for 13 as a team on free-throws.
On Jan. 6, Lincoln beat Berryville, 50-36, at home led by 15 points from Goldman, 10 from Dalton Barnum and 8 from Blankenship. The Wolves didn't get many free-throw opportunities in that contest either, going just 2 of 6 from the line. Their strength offensively came on a solid night of shooting (22-43) for 51 percent.
Sports on 01/14/2015