LINCOLN -- Achieving balance in the force, nine Wolves saw action and six players scored in the first half with Lincoln building a lead and going on to win 59-52.
The Wolves (12-13, 6-7 3A-1 West) led 34-25 at the half and rode that advantage to maintain a 59-52 win over Greenland (5-17, 3-10), on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, at Wolfpack Arena. Lincoln's leading scorer, Sterling Morphis, finished with 22 points, but didn't score until opening the second quarter with free throws.
His teammates carried the scoring load early on. Lincoln coach Tim Rich rejoiced over various contributions.
"I'm really happy. Shad Mimbs got to start tonight on senior night. He got some points, got a steal, got some rebounds. I"m real proud of his performance on senior night," Rich said. "Our seniors have been doing a great job all year. Sterling Morphis stepped up. Adam Keith is a 100 percent speed motor all over the court. Caleb Hale got some big rebounds for us. It was a good night for all our seniors in their last game at home."
Mimbs hit a jumper near the top-of-the-key and had a steal that led to Daytin Davis' free throw. Keith had a pair of buckets, Davis scored in the lane and Malik Bagsby crashed the offensive glass, cleaning up a Lincoln miss. The Wolves led 11-10 after one quarter and Morphis got going in the second.
He scored twice off steals and added his signature 3-pointer out top while scoring 12 points in the second. Chase Hutchens had two baskets and Lincoln tacked on 23 points in the period.
Luke Osburn scored 17 points to pace Greenland. He began a 6-1 Greenland run to start the third by making an over-the-shoulder catch and scoring in the paint. Osburn's bucket on an in-bounds play underneath the basket drew the Pirates within, 35-33, midway through the third.
"Luke gives us that effort every night. He's a leader every night," said Greenland coach Jared Gobel. "Most nights, most of our guys try to equal his intensity. He brings us up every night."
Davis provided Lincoln's answer at the other end with a step-back 3-pointer, but Osburn was relentless. He got blocked and Keith used his lateral quickness to track down the rebound for Lincoln. The Wolves couldn't score and Osburn pounded the boards when Greenland went on offense. Davis blocked his shot out-of-bounds. On the ensuing in-bounds play Osburn muscled in another Pirate miss.
Keith drilled a trifecta for the Wolves. Greenland's Carter Goebel and Morphis traded baskets with the third ending and Lincoln owning a 43-37 lead.
Seven straight points by Greenland including Goebel's 3-pointer and Osburn's free-throw line jumper prompted Rich to take time-out with Lincoln's lead reduced to 45-44 with 6:11 remaining.
Morphis drove, drew defenders, and passed to Davis for a layup. The Wolves then threw a full-court press at Greenland and caused a turnover. With the luxury of in-bounding under their own basket, the Wolves scored with Caleb Hale tipping a loose ball out to Morphis open for a 3-pointer and a 50-44 Lincoln advantage.
Greenland came within 53-50 on Jack Quinn's trey and nearly stayed that close after Morphis spun to the hoop but Osburn's basket was erased due to a jump-ball. Davis found Hutchens cutting to the basket to extend the margin to seven with 43.8 seconds to play.
Osburn scored going across the lane, but couldn't convert a 3-point play. Davis rebounded and sank both ends of a 1-and-1 to seal the game with Lincoln prevailing, 59-52.
"Chase Hutchens and Malik Bagsby did a great job. Chance Blankenship came off the bench to give us some good minutes and of course, I don't want to forget Daytin Davis," Rich said. "We had a lot of people step up and help us out."
LINCOLN 59, GREENLAND 52
Greenland^10^15^12^15^--^52
Lincoln^11^23^9^16^--^59
Greenland (5-17, 3-10): Luke Osburn 17, Carter Gobel 13, Calvin Cheevers 9, Caleb White 5, Kole Rector 3, Jack Quinn 2, Jackson Redman 2.
Lincoln (12-13, 6-7): Sterling Morphis 22, Daytin Davis 16, Adam Keith 9, Chase Hutchens 8, Malik Bagsby 2, Shad Mimbs 2.
Sports on 02/13/2019