LINCOLN -- At times the Wolves' 53-52 comeback win over rival Prairie Grove Friday seemed as improbable as the New England Patriots' 34-28 Super Bowl victory over the Atlanta Falcons Sunday.
"That was an exciting game, I'm very happy with the outcome," said Lincoln coach Tim Rich.
Prairie Grove looked in control until the final three minutes, once Lincoln made the contest a one-score game. Troy Sugg executed a perfect bounce-pass from the corner to Dalton Lee for a layup trimming the Tiger lead to 48-45.
There were similarities in the successes of fighting an uphill battle. New England held Atlanta to 7 points in the second half with a crucial sack by former Razorback Trey Flowers taking the Falcons out of field goal range in the fourth quarter. Likewise, the Wolves' defense was tough, limiting Prairie Grove to 22 points total after intermission. With 1:07 to play, Lincoln stopped the clock with a foul, which was only their second team foul of the half. Prairie Grove then upped their lead back to seven, at 52-45, on Will Pridmore's shot in the lane with 59 seconds on the clock.
"We had to do a lot of fouling quick, they did it smart," Rich said. "Brance Sugg even got a steal and layup while we were doing it. That was huge. They all did exactly what we asked them to do."
Brance Sugg's basket cut the Tiger advantage to 52-47 and was followed by three Lincoln fouls, finally sending Prairie Grove to the free throw line for a 1-and-1 at the 43 second mark. The charity shot missed and there was a major battle for the rebound before Lee came away with the ball. Playmaking guard Bryce Means sneaked down the sideline, getting the ball into the front-court and passing to reserve guard Sterling Morphis, who made a clutch 3-pointer that pulled Lincoln within two points with 31 seconds showing. Morphis then committed his fifth foul to stop the clock.
"Sterling Morphis came in and did exactly what we asked," Rich said. "To foul out that quick in the amount of minutes he played was unusual. He was lined up and open on that three, he stepped up big time."
Leading 52-50, Prairie Grove had a chance to ice the game at the foul line, but again missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 21 seconds to go. The shot initially went in before bouncing out. Lincoln got the rebound and found Means, who brought the ball up and dished to Troy Sugg, who nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner with 9.2 seconds left to complete a 19-11 fourth quarter rally.
"I just seen the open person, he was wide open," Means said. "I trust my teammates that they'll make it."
"Troy Sugg had the hot hand, we were waiting to see what happened with the free throws there," Rich said. "We got good ball movement. We found him in the area there. He made the big shot."
Prairie Grove took time-out, but Pridmore's off-balance shot wouldn't fall and Means got the rebound as time expired. Pridmore scored 18 points to lead the Tigers.
Like the Patriots, which trailed Atlanta, 21-3, at halftime, Lincoln struggled to put points on the board in the first half. The Wolves were down 30-15 after two quarters and hadn't looked sharp.
"I told them at halftime, 'you got to score,'" Rich said. "They came out and scored."
Means and Troy Sugg, who made four 3-pointers in the second half, including the game-winner, made a difference for Lincoln. Means was defended superbly by Prairie Grove's Isaac Disney, who had help. Neither were a factor in the first half. Troy Sugg was scoreless and Means only had 3 points. Each began to assert themselves combining for 29 points during the Wolves' rally.
"He (Means) battles every night, he's just a tough, tough competitor," Rich said. "He just worked so hard to get looks. Then Troy Sugg steps up and catches fire and hits big shots for us. Dalton Lee was rocking the boards tonight, just a workhorse."
Prairie Grove was way ahead, 36-19, with 2:29 elapsed in the third when Means and Troy Sugg began to make their moves. Means got a good bounce on a pull-up, then set up Troy Sugg with an assist on an open 3-pointer from the left corner. Means, then utilized a lateral dribble, to get off a shot that went in followed by back-to-back treys by Troy Sugg. Suddenly, Lincoln was within 36-30.
"I just started doing whatever worked," Means said. "I tried to get open the best I could to help out. We went off three or four minutes we didn't score. We just had to come out in the second half and get some shots up. It (the win) was nice. They beat us last time, it was big to beat them here."
Lincoln got breaks along the way. Prairie Grove had points taken off the board when after grabbing three offensive rebounds the Tigers were called for clearing out erasing a basket. Lee had a key block denying the Tigers in the paint on their last possession of the third, which ended with Prairie Grove leading, 41-34.
Means led Lincoln with 18 points while Troy Sugg added 14. Pridmore led Prairie Grove with 18.
Prairie Grove^11^19^11^11^--^52
Lincoln^8^7^19^19^--^53
Prairie Grove: Will Pridmore 7 3-5 18, Isaac Disney 4 0-0 11, Cameron Simmons 5 0-0 11, D.J. Pearson 2 0-0 5, Zeke Laird 1 0-0 2, Taylor Moore 1 0-0 2, DeMarkus Cooper 0 1-2 1. Totals 21 4-7 52.
Lincoln: Means 6 4-4 18, Troy Sugg 5 0-0 14, Dalton Lee 3 2-2 8, Brance Sugg 3 2-2 8, Sterling Morphis 1 0-0 3, Brent Crews 1 0-2 2. Totals 19 8-10 53.
3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 5 (Disney 3, Pridmore, Pearson), Lincoln 7 (Troy Sugg 4, Means, Morphis).
Sports on 02/08/2017