The Lincoln County Middle School boys’ basketball program claimed a championship trophy in the Gatorade King of the Bluegrass Invitational last season, but there would be no title run this Thanksgiving holiday break.
The sixth- and seventh-grade teams made it to the semifinal round only to be eliminated by Beaumont Middle and Morton Middle. The eighth-grade Eagles were knocked out one round earlier, with Clay County ousting the Lincoln team 54-48 in double overtime.
Eagles named all-tournament were: Sixth Grade Second Team – Tramane Alcorn and Layne Lark; Seventh Grade Honorable Mention – Cruise Wilson; Eighth Grade Second Team – Jaxon Smith, Rodney Alcorn and Baylor Mattingly.
SEMIFINALS
6th Grade
Beaumont 41, Lincoln 38
Beaumont Middle School of Lexington played spoiler in the Lincoln sixth-grade Eagles’ quest for a Gatorade King of the Bluegrass title, as the Colts edged the Eagles 41-38 in Sunday’s semifinals.
Beaumont edged ahead of Lincoln 11-10 at the end of the first only to have the Eagles respond with a 13-6 second-quarter to post a 23-17 lead at the break.
The Colts were back ahead in scoring in the third to narrow the Eagle lead to 32-29. Then they came back out in the fourth quarter and erased the deficit, outpointing the Eagles 12-6 to claim the win.
Tramane Alcorn led Lincoln (10-2) with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and five steals, Colton Ralston finished with six points and five rebounds, Layne Lark had six points, Zack Moore had five and Jansen McAninch had four.
7th Grade
Morton 35, Lincoln 30
The Lincoln County seventh-grade Eagles’ road to the King of the Bluegrass championship also reached its end in the semifinals, with Morton Middle knocking out Lincoln 35-30.
Morton of Lexington led after every quarterstop, opening with a 9-4 first-quarter lead and taking a 16-9 advantage into the half. The Mustangs then outscored the Eagles 10-7 in the third quarter to lead 26-16 going into the fourth quarter.
Lincoln (9-2) had its high-point effort in the final frame, outscoring Morton 14-9, but it would not be enough to overtake the Mustangs.
Clayton Davis led Lincoln with eight points, Lee Amon had seven points and three steals, Jaxon Smith had six points and five rebounds, Colin Green had six points, Cruise Wilson had two points and four assists and Tramane Alcorn got one point.
QUARTERFINALS
6th Grade
Lincoln 55, Bate 22
Lincoln County’s sixth-grade team had little trouble punching its ticket to the Gatorade King of the Bluegrass Invitational semifinals, trouncing Danville Bate Middle 55-22 in the quarterfinal round Sunday morning.
The Eagles jumped on Bate 15-8 in the first quarter then followed with a 16-3 scoring surge to post a 31-11 halftime lead.
Lincoln used a 17-5 third-quarter run to extend its lead to 48-16 before moving on for the win.
Layne Lark paced the Eagles with 16 points  and five assists, with Tramane Alcorn following close behind with 13 points.
Xzavion Grey finished with nine points and four assists, Jansen McAninch had four points and five rebounds, Jalen Smith got four points, Jackson Sims had three, Zack Moore and Cole Sneed each had two and Tommy Griffin and Trevor Bennett each had a free throw toss.
7th Grade
Lincoln 1, Madison 0
Lincoln won by forfeit.
8th Grade
Clay Co. 54, Lincoln 48 (2OT)
The eighth-grade Eagles’ hopes of advancing to the King of the Bluegrass Invitational finals were dashed in Sunday’s quarterfinal round, as Clay County ousted Lincoln 54-48 in double overtime.
Clay pushed ahead of Lincoln 16-12 in the first quarter only to find themselves down at the break. The Eagles outscored the Tigers 10-5 in the second to take a 22-21 lead at the half.
Lincoln outpointed Clay 12-10 in the third to make it a 34-31 ballgame, but the Tigers pushed back in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Eagles 13-10 to deadlock the game at 44-all.
The score was still tied at the end of the first overtime period, 46-46. Unfortunately, Lincoln’s offense couldn’t muster any more than two points in the second overtime either while Clay pushed in eight points to advance.
Lincoln had three players in double figures, with Jaxon Smith leading the way with 14 points, Baylor Mattingly adding 11 points and Rodney Alcorn following with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Preston Barnes had five points, Bryson Young had five points and eight rebounds and Blaise Brown got three points and seven assists.
FIRST ROUND
6th Grade
Lincoln 1, Madison 0
Lincoln won by forfeit.
7th Grade
Bye
8th Grade
Lincoln 46, Wolfe 43
A 15-10 second-quarter scoring run provided Lincoln’s eighth-grade Eagles with the cushion they needed to edge Wolfe County 46-43 in the first round of the King of the Bluegrass Invitational Tournament.
Wolfe led 12-11 after the first before Lincoln answered with its 15-10 run to go ahead 26-22 at the half. Wolfe edged Lincoln 12-10 in the third quarter to trim the Eagles’ lead to 36-34 but Lincoln closed on a 10-9 run to preserve the win.
Jaxon Smith led Lincoln with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists, Rodney Alcorn had seven points and five rebounds, Bryson Young and Brady Weaver each had six points, Blaise Brown and Michael Henderson each had five, Cade Jenkins had two points and three steals, Cruise Wilson and Clayton Davis also had two points apiece and Preston Barnes had one.
POOL PLAY #2
6th Grade
Crosby 46, Lincoln 37
The sixth-grade Lincoln County team took a hit in the second round of pool play in the King of the Bluegrass Invitational, with Crosby Middle School of Louisville handing the Eagles a 46-37 loss.
Lincoln fell behind at the start, with Crosby opening up a 14-3 first-quarter lead. The Eagles made up for the slow start with a 14-5 scoring run in the second quarter to get Lincoln within 19-17 at the half.
However, the Cougars would slowly put away the game in the second half, outpointing the Eagles 13-9 in the third and 14-11 in the fourth.
Tramane Alcorn topped Lincoln’s scoring with 12 points. He also had five steals. Zack Moore also had double figures with 10 points.
Colton Ralston added six points, Layne Lark scored four points, Xzavion Grey got three points and Jackson Sims added two. Jansen McAninch had five assists.
7th Grade
Lincoln 44, Cl. Moore 21
The seventh-grade Eagles took on Clark Moore Middle School in the second round of pool play in the King of the Bluegrass Tournament, and Lincoln came out on top 44-21.
Lincoln established control early in the matchup, shutting out Clark Moore 17-0 in the first quarter. The Braves finally got on the scoreboard in the second quarter with eight points, but Lincoln put in 10 for a 27-8 halftime lead.
Lincoln’s offense fell off in the second half, but the Eagles still outscored Clark Moore in every frame, finishing with a 7-4 third quarter and a 10-9 fourth.
Lincoln was led in the victory by Jaxon Smith, who finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Lee Amon followed with nine points, Cruise Wilson got seven points and three blocks, Tramane Alcorn had six points and three steals, Clayton Davis had five points and three assists, Ryan York got four points, Colin Green, two, and Layne Lark, one.
8th Grade
Lincoln 39, Knox Co. 37
The Lincoln County eighth-grade basketball team escaped with a win in the second round of the King of the Bluegrass pool play, edging Knox County Middle School 39-37.
Each team won two frames in the matchup, with Lincoln posting the first lead, 13-10, in the first. The Eagles were outscored 8-6 in the second quarter but still maintained a 19-18 lead at the half.
The Eagles made it a three-point ballgame in the third, outscoring the Panthers 11-9 in the third for a 30-27 margin. Knox was back on top in the fourth, however, the 10-9 edge would not overtake Lincoln.
Baylor Mattingly led Lincoln in the win with 13 points and three steals. Jaxon Smith followed with nine points, Preston Barnes got five points and three steals, Rodney Alcorn got four points and a game-high 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals, Blaise Brown and Bryson Young had four points apiece.
POOL PLAY #1
6th Grade
Lincoln 44, East Jess. 28
Lincoln’s sixth-grade Eagles kicked off play in the King of the Bluegrass Invitational with a 44-28 rout of East Jessamine.
The Eagles led just 11-8 after the first, but went on a 13-4 second-quarter run to post a 24-12 halftime lead.
Lincoln would outpoint East in every frame, extending its lead to 33-19 in the third before moving on for the win.
Zack Moore and Xzavion Grey combined for 22 points, with 11 apiece. Layne Lark scored nine points, Colton Ralston had seven points and eight rebounds, Tramane Alcorn got four points, nine assists and four steals and Jackson Sims had two points.
7th Grade
Lincoln 38, Madison 12
Lincoln County’s seventh-grade boys kicked off the King of the Bluegrass Invitational with a romp, steamrolling Madison Middle 38-12.
The Eagles exploded out to a 21-6 first-quarter lead and never looked back. They shut out the Panthers 12-0 in the second to post a 33-6 halftime lead before moving on for the win.
Cruise Wilson led Lincoln with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals. Jaxon Smith added eight points and four assists, Clayton Davis finished with seven points, Tramane Alcorn had three, Lee Amon, Lawson Hon and Jansen McAninch each had two, and Ryan York got two points and three steals.
8th Grade
Crosby 43, Lincoln 35
The King of the Bluegrass Invitational did not get off to a good start for Lincoln County’s eighth-grade team, with the Eagles bowing 43-35 to Crosby Middle of Louisville.
Lincoln led 13-10 after the first and 27-23 at the half, however, Crosby’s offense came out blazing in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 16-4 to take a 39-31 lead into the fourth quarter. Both teams scored four points in the fourth for the 43-35 final.
Lincoln had two double-digit scorers in the game with Baylor Mattingly pouring in 16 points and Rodney Alcorn following with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Jaxon Smith scored four points, Bryson Young had three points and seven rebounds and Blaise Brown got two points.