The Kentucky Basketball Commission (KBC) crowned two state champions over the weekend and Lincoln County Middle School claimed one of those title wins in the KBC 6th Grade State Tournament in Lexington.

Lincoln County Middle School claimed the championship trophy in the Gold Bracket state final with a 63-58 win over Paris Middle School Sunday.

The Eagles, led by coach Steve Ralston, won all three of their games in the Elite 8 Gold Bracket to earn the title, knocking off West Jessamine Middle School and Kammerer Middle School of Louisville to reach the title tilt with Paris.

Sawyer Robbins paced Lincoln in the championship win by pouring in 28 points. The Eagles had four players hitting double digits in the win, with Kash Smith and Brennin Hazlett both contributing 11 points and Matthew Slone adding 10 points. Slone also grabbed six rebounds and Smith got four steals.

Lincoln (26-10) jumped out to an early lead but had to battle from behind to clinch the win. The Eagles posted a 20-16 lead over Paris at the end of the first quarter only to fall behind before the break.

Paris used a 20-14 scoring edge in the second period to take a 36-34 lead into the half, then held to the lead going into the fourth quarter, outpointing the Eagles 15-13 in the third to up its lead to 51-47.

The Eagles would overcome the deficit in the final frame, though, holding Paris to single digits while pouring in 16 points to score the five-point victory and the winner’s trophy.

Gavin Douglas finished with three points and seven assists for Lincoln in the win. Troy Lee had six rebounds.

The members of the 2019 KBC Gold Bracket championship Eagles team are: Reece Carlton, Canaan Dawson, Gavin Douglas, Tucker Elkins, Brennin Hazlett, Colton Hodge, Troy Lee, Jax Reynolds, Sawyer Robbins, Tommy Rowe, Toby Sallee, Matthew Slone, Jack Smith, Kash Smith, Zeke Wallin and Khalil White.

Paris 16 20 15 7 – 58
Lincoln 20 14 13 16 – 63

The other state title doled out over the weekend was the KBC 6th Grade Championship Bracket title. North Laurel captured that title in a one-point win over North Oldham.

North Oldham was the only blemish on Lincoln’s record in the tournament, as North rolled 54-21 in the Sweet 16 round on Sunday. All the teams losing their Sweet 16 game got moved into the Gold Bracket.

North took control of the game early, exploding out to 26-4 lead in the first quarter. The margin was 34-11 at the break and North went on to outscore Lincoln 20-10 in the second half, holding the Eagles scoreless in the final frame.

Matthew Slone led Lincoln’s scoring with seven points, Sawyer Robbins had six points, Gavin Douglas had two points and three assists, Kash Smith got two points and four rebounds and Troy Lee and Brennin Hazlett scored two points each.

Lincoln 4 7 10 0 – 21
North 26 8 10 10 – 54

Lincoln had four games on Sunday, but the Eagles only took the court for three. West Jessamine, the Eagles’ opponent in the Elite 8 Tournament Gold Bracket Game, forfeited the contest to give Lincoln an automatic berth in the Final Four Gold Bracket game.

The Eagles played Kammerer Middle School of Louisville in the Final 4 round and came away with a 51-37 victory to advance to the championship game.

Lincoln led 10-8 after one and posted a 25-20 lead at the half. The Eagles used a 15-8 third-quarter effort to cushion their lead to 40-28 before moving on for the win.

Sawyer Robbins and Matthew Slone paced Lincoln in the win, with Robbins scoring 14 points and Slone, 13. Gavin Douglas added nine points with five assists, Kash Smith had seven points, Troy Lee finished with five points, six rebounds and four steals and Brennin Hazlett had three points.

Lincoln 10 15 15 11 – 51
Kammerer 8 12 8 9 – 37

Results from Lincoln’s preliminary wins follow:

Friday, Jan. 11
Pool Play Game 1
At Bryan Station H.S.

Lincoln 41, Wolfe Co. 39

Lincoln 10 10 8 13 – 41
Wolfe 8 5 8 18 – 39

Kash Smith 16 points & 9 rebounds, Sawyer Robbins 16 points, Matthew Slone 9 points, Troy Lee 4 steals, Brennin Hazlett 4 assists.

Saturday, Jan. 12
Pool Play Game 2
At KBA

Lincoln 47, Mt. Washington 18

Mt. Wash. 6 6 4 2 – 18
Lincoln 26 10 11 0 – 47

Sawyer Robbins 19 points, 3 assists & 5 steals, Matthew Slone 11 points & 6 steals, Kash Smith 9 points & 6 rebounds, Troy Lee 4 points & 4 steals, Gavin Douglas and Jax Reynolds 2 points each.

Out of the 50 teams that started the tournament, the top 14 seeds got a bye in an NCAA tournament type bracket. The Eagles were the No. 16 overall seed in the tournament so they got a 4-seed in the bracket.

Opening Round

Lincoln 65, Livingston 26

Lincoln 26 7 22 10 – 65
L-ston 4 8 14 0 – 26

Sawyer Robbins 22 points, Kash Smith 10 points, Gavin Douglas 6 points & 4 assists, Matthew Slone 6 points, 5 assists & 3 steals, Jax Reynolds 6 points & 7 rebounds, Troy Lee and Tucker Elkins 5 points each, Zeke Wallin 4 points, Reece Carlton 1 point.

Round of 32

Lincoln 56, Pace Creek 46

Lincoln 18 7 20 11 – 56
Pace 9 16 9 12 – 46

Matthew Slone 22 points, 5 rebounds & 7 assists, Kash Smith 15 points, Gavin Douglas 7 points, 6 assists & 4 steals, Sawyer Robbins and Brennin Hazlett 6 points each, Troy Lee 5 rebounds.