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I never heard anything impressive on his site at all....read more...

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I work at the HSUS, and I’ve also worked at several animal shelters. Shelters do great work – ad...read more...

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LIBERTY – Lincoln’s Zack Hill, Colby Long and Matt Cooper all had a hot hand on the hardwood Friday, combining for 66 points in a 72-58 win over host Casey County.

Hill whipped the nets for a game-high 28 points, Long poured in 20 points and Cooper cashed in for 18 in the regular-season finale.

Lincoln (16-9) shot well overall in the road win, connecting on 25 of 47 shots from the field for 53 percent.

“We shot the ball well tonight. We’ve shot the ball well, really, the last couple of games,” said Lincoln coach Jeff Jackson. “We’re passing the ball a little bit better, moving the ball better and going into Zack. He’s doing a good job recognizing the double-downs and post-drops, and he’s kicking it out finding the open man, and, fortunately, we’ve had some kids step up and hit some shots.”

Perhaps what pleased Jackson most about Friday’s outcome was not the win itself but the “when” and the “where” of it all. With Lincoln set to kickoff the post-season Wednesday in the 45th District Tournament against host Danville, Jackson knew Lincoln needed a big finish before a hostile crowd.

“We wanted to go in with some momentum and this is a very difficult place to play,” he said. “The ceiling is dark. Their crowds are great and it’s a great rivalry. It’s always been a tough place to play. Their kids play so hard you’ve got to come in here and play really, really well to have a chance to win.”

Lincoln, which has won three of its last five games, never trailed in Friday’s 12th Region clash. The Patriots bombed in three treys in the opening period to boost Lincoln over Casey 15-7. Hill was good for nine of the 15 points, including a triple, and Cooper scored the other six points from behind the arc.

Brad Jeffries nailed a 3-pointer before the end of the first to help Casey pull within 15-11 only to have Lincoln answer with a 14-2 run to open the second quarter. Long and Cooper ignited the run with back-to-back 3-pointers, Hill followed with a free throw and putback then Long closed with another 3 and a bucket to extend the Patriot lead to 29-13.

Kyle Jeffries, who led Casey with 22 points, and Jordan Spangoletti, who finished with 10 points, helped the Rebels (7-21) close the gap to eight by the close of the third quarter. Jeffries tallied seven points in the final three and a half minutes of the period and Spangoletti pushed in back-to-back field goals to make it 44-36.

“Casey was hitting, too,” said Jackson. “They are a very dangerous basketball team. They aren’t going to go away. Any time you’ve got kids that can shoot the ball the way the Jeffries kid can and Spangoletti and (Tyler) Johnson. They can stroke it, and they stroke it from way out there. You have to get after them and guard them.”

Casey might have been stubborn about going away, but the Rebels weren’t going to trim any more off the Patriot lead.

Hill sank two free throws to open the fourth quarter and Long followed with a 3-pointer to make it a 49-36 ballgame. The lead never dipped under double digits the rest of the way, with Lincoln using a 12-for-15 stint at the foul line to put the game away.

“It was a heckuva game and we’re glad to get out of here with a big win,” said Jackson. “I’m proud of the kids effort tonight.”

Casey shot 26 percent from the field, making just 16 of 61 shots attempted. The Rebels were 19-for-24 from the foul line.

Lincoln outrebounded Casey 29-23, led by Cooper with 10 boards and Long with seven. Jeffries had seven rebounds for Casey.

Sophomore point guard Trenton Edgington didn’t score any points in the Lincoln win but Jackson said he knew his role.

“He didn’t take a shot, but I thought he did a real good job running our team,” said Jackson. “He got the ball to some people who could get some good looks at the basket.”

With the regular season now behind him, Jackson knows the Patriots have their work cut out for them as the district gets under way.

“Danville’s a very, very good team and they’re at home. We’re going to have to go over there and play our best game of the year,” he said. “We know that both games we had in the regular season came down to the last minute or so and we expect the same to happen Wednesday night.”

Jackson said he hopes to have his Patriots better prepared for the post-season rematch.

“Danville really hurt us on the glass the last time and we’ve emphasized all week on rebounding and defense,” he said. “Those are two areas that we’ll have to really, really improve on to win Wednesday.”

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