WEST FORK -- A double dish of turnovers was not the kind of Thanksgiving leftovers Lincoln coach Tim Rich wanted to begin conference play.
Lincoln sustained a 59-46 loss at West Fork in 4A/3A District-1 play Nov. 29, the Wolves' third in as many games to start the boys basketball season. Lincoln was soundly defeated, 70-47, at Berryville in their season-opener Nov. 15. The Wolves lost a nonconference game to Westville, Okla., 66-59, Nov. 18.
West Fork 59, Lincoln 46
Lincoln^5^13^13^15^—^46
West Fork^16^14^15^14^—^59
Lincoln (0-3): Troy Sugg 4 6-6 14, Brance Sugg 3 1-1 7, Dalton Lee 1 1-2 3, Bryce Means 6 5-5 17, Harrison Swayne 1 1-2 4, Braden Umberson 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 15-18 46.
West Fork (1-0): Dalton Hays 6 14-21 26, Jeff Treat 5 0-0 11, Brenon Burks 2 5-6 10, Justin Bivens 4 0-0 8, Mason Ramey 1 0-0 3, Grant Franklin 0 1-2 1, Kaden Pennington 0 0-1 5. Totals 18 20-30 59.
3-Point Goals Goals — Lincoln 1 (Means), West Fork 3 (Burks, Treat, Ramey). Fouled Out — Brance Sugg. Total Fouls — Lincoln 28, West Fork 21.
Rich refused to pin the loss on turnovers alone, although Lincoln was plagued by them.
"We need to take care of the little stuff," Rich said. "Turnovers is just one of many things we need to take care of."
In spite of the ball-control problems, Lincoln was in the game until the final minute. Troy Sugg caught the ball in the high-post facing the basket and coolly snapped an 18-foot jumper to pull Lincoln within 10 points, at 53-43, with 1:17 to play in the fourth. The Wolves had chances to draw even closer when West Fork's Jeff Treat launched an ill-advised airball which Lincoln rebounded. Lincoln couldn't score, then allowed the Tigers to run the clock down to 33 seconds before Bryce Means was whistled for an intentional foul.
West Fork's leading scorer, Dalton Hays, made his living at the foul line making 14 of 21 charity shots on his way to 26 points despite having only a single field goal in the second half. Hays missed both free throws, but the Tigers still had possession because of the intentional foul call. They in-bounded and Hays was fouled again, this time making both to put Lincoln in a 55-43 hole. With only 30 seconds remaining, the Wolves couldn't make up the deficit and lost, 59-46.
Their best chance to make a run came earlier in the fourth when Means twice grabbed his own rebound, scoring and drawing a foul on the third shot. His 3-point play narrowed the gap to 47-36 and Rich took time-out with 6:01 to go. The Wolves pressured the ball on the in-bounds play and Hays picked up his dribble at the time line. Surrounded, he swung his elbows wildly back and forth and was whistled for an over-and-back violation. Lincoln turned the ball over, but got another chance only to have a bucket erased by a charging foul. Hays missed two free throws, but the Wolves couldn't capitalize and lost possession on a traveling call.
Brenon Burks, who scored 10 points, hit his only 3-pointer of the game to break West Fork's 2:39 scoring drought, making the score 50-36 with 4:50 left. Lincoln got free throws from Troy Sugg, Mean's put-back created by Sterling Morphis' dribble penetration and a foul shot by Harrison Swayne to rally with a 5-2 run.
Means led the Wolves with 17 points with Troy Sugg chipping in 14. Lincoln went 15 of 18 at the free throw line. On a positive note, Rich said he liked the effort, but the team still has to come together and execute.
"We've got a lot of players out there giving great effort," Rich said. "But you've got to go to the right spot. With great effort, you've got to do it the right way and still work on it."
The Wolves ran into a hot-shooting team at Berryville with the Bobcats knocking down 12 3-pointers. Ty Allen (16 points) and Cole Parton (11) combined for a trio of first-quarter 3-pointers to help Berryville get off to a 15-4 lead. Sophomore point guard Zach Webb contributed 8 of his team-high 19 points and some timely assists in the second quarter. The Bobcats extended their lead to 36-21 at the half and 54-37 after the third quarter before winning, 70-47.
Sports on 12/07/2016