LINCOLN -- At halftime Tim McGraw's 2004 monster hit, "Live Like You Were Dying," an appropriate theme for basketball teams facing elimination during 3A-1 District tournament action, played inside Wolfpack Arena.
Although the Lincoln boys went down, losing 57-55 in overtime to Green Forest on Saturday, Feb. 13, ending their season, they lived up to the exhortation of a tune written by Craig Michael Wiseman, James Timothy Nichols, and Tim Nichols which won a Grammy for "Best Country Song," as well as "Single of the Year" and "Song of the Year" from the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
Lincoln jumped out to an early 13-6 lead, its largest of the contest on an Eli Rich 3-pointer followed by Weston Massey's steal and lay-in. Green Forest cut it to 14-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Bull Riding Analogy
In the first verse of the song, McGraw voices a moment when time seemed to stand still. The Wolves kept playing even when they got knocked down -- sort of like spending 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu.
Stripped of the ball while driving the lane in the second quarter, Massey made an all-out effort to regain possession. He dove onto the floor, grabbed the ball and wound up laying flat on his back holding it inches above the baseline as one defender nearly ran over him. Massey managed to bounce the ball off another defender and Lincoln retained possession, in-bounding underneath their own basket.
The Wolves didn't score, yet Massey's feat illustrated the kind of intensity Lincoln competed with.
Green Forest came to play, as well. Isaac Demeyer, a 6-0 junior small forward, created a sensational assist for the Tigers. He momentarily controlled a backside offensive rebound passing it while hanging in the air to Daniel McDonald for a layup. McDonald was fouled and broke a tie putting the visitors ahead with an old-fashioned 3-point play.
Eli Rich drained a trifecta to draw the Wolves even again at 28-28 going into halftime.
Lincoln struggled to score in the third quarter, largely due to excellent defense by Green Forest and fell behind 39-35.
The Wolves labored on defense trying to prevent lobs to the Tigers' twin towers of 6-5 Jordon McCloud and McDonald while simultaneously guarding the perimeter after Adrian Serna knocked down a pair of treys in the first half. McDonald hit a three in the second period and Demeyer nailed another during the third quarter.
Meanwhile, the only consistent offense generated by Lincoln in half-court sets showcased senior Daytin Davis' athletic ability successfully maneuvering against taller defenders around the basket and Green Forest took a 42-37 lead with 7:06 left in regulation on McCloud's bucket in the paint.
"They were tough. We had two tough ones against them. It's that third time playing them finally caught up to us and we didn't win," said Lincoln coach Tim Rich. "It was a physical game and they stayed on us all night, too."
Skydiving Comparison
Lincoln demonstrated its fighting spirit with a 9-0 run highlighted by junior Kyler Calvin planting his foot and literally stopping-on-a-dime, which froze a backpedaling McDonald desperately trying to stay between Calvin and the basket after Calvin's steal. Calvin's ploy worked perfectly causing McDonald to fall helplessly out of the way while he laid the ball in with his left hand.
Austin Munyon went skydiving putting in a Lincoln miss to cap the run and establishing a 46-42 Wolves' lead.
Green Forest outscored the Wolves 5-1 in the final 1:50 of regulation to force overtime with Lincoln missing 2-of-3 free-throws during that span. The Tigers scored six straight points prompting Tim Rich to call time-out down 55-49 with 1:44 left in the bonus session.
Lincoln made 2-of-its-next-4 free-throws and sought a miracle comeback. Davis picked up two quick fouls, his third and fourth personals. He subbed out on defense and when a rebound went out-of-bounds last touched by Green Forest checked back in with one second elapsed.
Lincoln set up an in-bounds play underneath its own basket, but Green Forest deflected the ball into the back-court. Davis scrambled getting to it first surrounded by three Tigers. He drove hard to the goal, drew help defense and passed off to Munyon for a layup inching the Wolves within 55-53 with the overtime clock at 1:14.
Rocky Mountain Climbing
Massey made two steals in the next 44 seconds, but Lincoln couldn't convert either into points. Serna extended Green Forest's lead to 57-53 at the free-throw-line with 11.2 seconds remaining in overtime, but Lincoln battled to the end. Davis banked a shot home and Tim Rich stopped the clock by calling time-out with 3.1 seconds to play.
Green Forest threw the ball into the front-court but turned it over, leaving Lincoln one last in-bounds play from the side with 1.2 seconds to go.
Hope remained. One Lincoln fan acknowledged the reality of the grim situation while imploring the Wolves to give themselves one more chance.
"Get a shot up, let's go guys," he said.
The teenage boys executed well under pressure with Eli Rich doing some Rocky Mountain climbing, catching the in-bounds pass near the sideline and elevating while launching a contested, long 3-point attempt. The shot would have won the game for Lincoln if it went in, but it rimmed out and the Lincoln boys walked off the court with a 57-55 loss.
"We let it slip away there at the end. We couldn't finish. We had it," Tim Rich said. "They fought all year. There's no quit in them, and they finished this season up with no quit in them, still."
Green Forest 57, Lincoln 55 (Overtime)
Green Forest111711810--57
Lincoln14147128--55
Lincoln (7-7, 2-1): Daytin Davis 9 4-6 24, Kyler Calvin 4 2-2 11, Weston Massey 2 2-2 7, Austin Munyon 2 3-4 7, Eli Rich 1 1-2 4, Tyler Brewer 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 12-16 55.
Green Forest: Daniel McDonald 13 4-5 31, Adrian Serna 3 2-3 10, Jordan McCloud 2 3-4 7, Reiley Gordon 3 0-1 6, Isaac Demeyer 1 0-0 3, Ali Cabrera 0 0-2 0. Totals 22 9-15 57.
3-Point Goals -- Lincoln 5 (Davis 2, Rich, Massey, Calvin), Green Forest 4 (Serna 2, Demeyer, McDonald).