Patriots go 1-2 in Central Bank Classic at LCA
Published 12:42 pm Thursday, January 2, 2020
Photo by Nancy Leedy SOPHOMORE guard Jaxon Smith splits two Muhlenberg County defenders on his way to the basket for two of his game-high 16 points in Lincoln County’s 51-42 win over the Mustangs in the Central Bank Jim Rose Classic at Lexington Christian. Smith finished with 38 points for the Patriots in the three-day tourney. He had 11 points in a loss to host LCA and a loss to George Rogers Clark.
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LEXINGTON — The Lincoln County Patriots got the Central Bank Jim Rose Classic off to a winning start Friday night at Lexington Christian Academy, corralling the Muhlenberg County Mustangs 51-42 in the three-day tournament’s opening round.
But Lincoln could not carry its winning ways throughout the rest of the tourney, as the host LCA Eagles and George Rogers Clark handed the Patriots back-to-back losses. LCA edged Lincoln 56-55 Saturday night then GRC followed with a 48-43 win Sunday afternoon.
Lincoln 51
Muhlenberg Co. 42
Jaxon Smith, Bryston Alcorn and Riley Bodner all hit double figures in Lincoln’s 51-42 win over Muhlenberg County Friday in the Central Bank Classic, combining for almost as many points as Muhlenberg had as a team.
Smith led the way with a game-high 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting and had five rebounds and three steals. Alcorn came away with 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting with six rebounds and Bodner finished with 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting and a team-high eight rebounds.
Lincoln (7-1) played from behind for over 20 minutes, trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half before rallying to claim the win.
The Patriots, who fell behind 11-6 in the first, trailed 27-18 as the third quarter opened but the offense exploded with a 15-0 run to erase the deficit and give Lincoln its first lead of the game. Lincoln missed its first two field goal attempts in the third before Alcorn drove inside for a bucket to ignite the run. Baylor Mattingly and Smith followed with back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Pats within 27-26 then Alcorn toed the foul line for two free throws for the team’s first lead, 28-27, with 3:29 left in the third quarter. Bodner scored a putback before Mattingly capped the run with his second 3 for a 33-27 lead.
Chandler Moore, who had 10 points for the Mustangs, scored the final two buckets of the third quarter to cut the Lincoln lead to 33-31.
Lincoln never trailed in the fourth quarter. Muhlenberg kept the margin between two and five points during the fourth quarter until the final 32.2 seconds. Nash Divine, who led Muhlenberg with 12 points, nailed a 3-pointer with 41.5 seconds on the clock for a 44-42 ballgame but Alcorn drove in for a layup late then Bodner sank two free throws and Smith converted on a three-point play for the 51-42 final.
Lincoln shot 46 percent from the field, going 19-for-41, 5-for-16 from 3. The Patriots were 8-for-11 at the foul line.
Muhlenberg shot 35 percent overall, going 15-for-43, 3-for-16 from 3-point range. The Mustangs were 9-for-10 at the line.
Hayden Perkins also hit double figures with 10 points for the Mustangs. While Lincoln edged Muhlenberg 28-27 on the glass, Perkins cleaned up with 12 boards.
Lex. Christian 56
Lincoln 55
Baylor Mattingly bombed in 24 points, including seven 3-pointers, but it wouldn’t be enough to carry Lincoln to victory as the host Lexington Christian Eagles edged the Patriots 56-55 Saturday night in the second round of the Central Bank Jim Rose Classic.
Just like Friday’s game with Muhlenberg County, Lincoln had to battle from behind for the entire first half.
LCA (7-4) jumped on Lincoln 7-0 in the first quarter. Zeke Grier, who finished with 14 points, tallied a 3-pointer and a layup in the opening run then added another layup late in the period as the Eagles opened up a 16-6 lead.
Lincoln had a hot hand from 3-point range in Saturday’s game, opening with a 4-for-7 effort in the first quarter to keep LCA from pulling away. Jaxon Smith opened Lincoln’s scoring with a trey then Mattingly nailed a 3 to get the Pats within 10-6. Down 16-6 late in the period, Tramane Alcorn and Mattingly knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 16-12 at the end of the first.
Smith hit to open the second quarter to get the Pats within 16-14 only to have Tanner Walton, who led the Eagles with a game-high 25 points, to answer with a jump shot.
Mattingly hit his third 3 of the game with 5:27 to go in the second quarter to make it 18-17 but Lincoln would get no closer before the first half ended with LCA taking a 24-21 lead into the break.
Neither team shot well to start the second half. Riley Bodner sank two free throws early for Lincoln but the clock wound down to 5:49 before Grier sank a free throw for LCA. Mattingly finally hit the first field goal, a 3-pointer, with 5:42 showing for Lincoln’s first lead of the game, 26-25.
The two teams traded buckets and leads before Lincoln closed on a 7-0 run to post a 35-30 lead going into the fourth quarter. Mattingly had six of the seven points off two 3-point goals.
Lincoln led by as many as 10 points in the final frame, up 50-40 with just 2:02 to play. Mattingly had six points as the Patriots opened up the double-digit lead, Tramane Alcorn and Bryston Alcorn both had three points, Elijah Frye had two points and Smith had a free throw toss.
But the lead would not last as the Eagles closed on a 16-8 run. Walton had half of the 16 points, including two three-point plays. Grier and Aaron Abrahamson both hit 3-pointers in the run and Abrahamson added two free throws. Lincoln was up 55-53 when Walton scored his second three-point play to give LCA the win.
Lincoln shot 43 percent from the field, going 17-for-40, 10-for-24 from 3. At the foul line, the Pats were 11-for-19.
LCA shot 46 percent, going 20-for-43, 6-for-20 from 3. The Eagles were 10-for-14 at the line.
LCA also got the win on the boards, 28-23. Bodner led Lincoln with six rebounds and Bryston Alcorn had five. Walton and Chase Widmer led LCA with nine boards apiece.
GRC 48
Lincoln 43
The Lincoln County boys’ basketball team suffered its second loss in less than 24 hours, falling to George Rogers Clark Sunday in the final round of the Central Bank Jim Rose Classic at Lexington Christian Academy.
The Cardinals (8-3) jumped on Lincoln 10-2 in the first quarter and the Patriots could never recover from the early deficit as GRC led the entire way en route to a 48-43 win.
Elijah Frye. Tramane Alcorn and Jaxon Smith all finished in double figures for the Patriots. Frye led Lincoln (7-3) with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting, Alcorn followed with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting and Smith added 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting.
As a team, the Patriots finished at 41 percent from the floor, going 19-for-46. Lincoln did not collect a single 3-pointer in the game, going 0-for-13 from long range. At the foul line, the Patriots were 5-for-7.
The Cardinals (8-3) also had three players in double digits, led by Lincoln Bush with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Jerone Morton followed with 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting and Jared Wellman had 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting.
GRC finished at 39 percent from the floor, connecting on 17 of 44 shot attempts. The team was 3-for-19 from 3-point range. At the line, the Cards were 11-for-23.
Lincoln Bush scored six of his 16 points in the Cardinals’ early run, collecting two field goals and two free throws as the team surged 10-2. GRC posed an 11-4 lead at the end of the first. Smith and Frye scored Lincoln’s only two buckets of the period.
The Patriots picked up on their offense in the second quarter, outscoring the Cards 14-11 to cut the deficit to 22-18 at the half. Alcorn scored six points in the second period, Smith added four points and Frye and Cruise Wilson each had two points. Smith’s second field goal of the period got Lincoln within 20-18.
The Cardinal lead was back to seven, 35-28, by the end of the third as GRC came back to outpoint Lincoln 13-10 in the period. The Cards posted their largest lead of the third, 35-26, with just 56 seconds on the clock after a Reed Johnson 3-pointer and a Wellman field goal.
Frye hit for Lincoln to open the fourth quarter to make it 35-30 only to have GRC answer with a 5-0 run. Wellman opened the run with a field goal, Jerone Morton followed with a dunk and Bush added a free throw toss for the Cardinals’ largest lead of the game, 40-30.
Lincoln would answer with it’s own run to cut the deficit to 45-43 late in the game. Frye scored three layups in the 13-5 run, Alcorn had two buckets and Smith had a bucket and a free throw. Alcorn’s second bucket made it 45-43 with 1:25 to play. That would be as close as Lincoln would get with GRC sinking three free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.
*****
Muhlenberg 11 16 4 11 – 42
Lincoln 6 12 15 18 – 51
MUHLENBERG (5-5) – Isaac Rose 2, Trey Lovell 6, Nash Divine 11, Hayden Perkins 10, Cole Vincent 3, Chandler Moore 10.
LINCOLN (7-1) – Bryston Alcorn 14, Elijah Frye 2, Baylor Mattingly 9, Jaxon Smith 16, Riley Bodner 10.
***
Lincoln 12 9 14 20 – 55
LCA 16 8 6 26 – 56
LINCOLN (7-2) – Bryston Alcorn 6, Tramane Alcorn 6, Elijah Frye 4, Jaxon Smith 11, Baylor Mattingly 24, Riley Bodner 4.
LEX. CHRISTIAN (7-4) – Tanner Walton 25, Jacob Goins 5, Aaron Abrahamson 8, Zeke Grier 14, Jeffery Selby 4.
***
GRC 11 11 13 13 – 48
Lincoln 4 14 10 15 – 43
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK (8-3) – Jerone Morton 13, Jared Wellman 10, Lincoln Bush 16, Reed Johnson 7, Jeremiah Mundy-Lloyd 2.
LINCOLN (7-3) – Bryston Alcorn 2, Tramane Alcorn 12, Elijah Frye 16, Jaxon Smith 11, Cruise Wilson 2.
