3A REGION 1 BOYS Lincoln’s offense lights up Lamar

— Lincoln had no problems finding its offensive rhythm Thursday night.

Senior guard Spencer Hulse led off Lincoln’s attack with a three-pointer early in the game, and the Wolves never looked back in a 59-40 victory over Lamar in the Class 3A Region 1 Tournament.

Lincoln qualified for the Class 3A State Tournament for a second consecutive year with the victory. It will play West Fork in the regional semifinals at 5:30 p.m. today.

Senior forward Dakota Leming led the Wolves (12-9) with a game-high 16 points, while Hulse contributed 11.

“Our guys were feeling good and playing good, they did everything I asked them to do,” Lincoln Coach Tim Rich said. “We started out shooting the three-pointer and it got us rolling.

“We just took off with it and kept playing aggressive defense.”

After leading by 13 points midway through the first half, Lamar (13-13) made a push before halftime by finishing the second quarter on a 14-6 run to cut Lincoln’s lead to 33-28.

But Lamar Coach Jerry Miller said his team’s aggressive play took the energy away from his players in the second half, which allowed Lincoln to extend its lead.

“We wanted to either guard big players or their guards, and we chose the wrong ones,” Miller said. “We went aftertheir bigs and their guards decided to shoot the ball well.

“You’ve got to choose your poison, and we just chose the wrong one.”

Instead of letting the game stay close in the second half, Lincoln responded in the third quarter by outscoring Lamar 16-6 by getting the ball inside and scoring off fast breaks. Lamar missed its first eight shots in the period while committing eight turnovers.

The Wolves maintained their lead down the stretch by making 6 of 14 free throws in the second half and outrebounding Lamar 18-9 overall.

“It’s fun to see our players get rewarded for their hard work,” Rich said. “We made the state tournament last year and that was a big deal, but now we want to keep going back every year.

“This is a great start for our program.” CEDARVILLE 44, PARIS 42

Keith Simkins scored a game-high 16 points as Cedarville (18-8) advanced to the semifinals with a victory over Paris (18-9).

Marcus Bishop added 10 points for Cedarville.

Austin Bridges scored 10 points and Ismael Valdez nine for Paris.

GIRLS WEST FORK 68, LAMAR 37

West Fork (21-7) dominated the first half while building a 30-point advantage, invoking the mercy rule and easily taking down Lamar (19-8).

Junior post Melissa Jones led West Fork with 20 points, while Madelina McCorkle added 17 and Sarah Sagely nine.

Beteh Mitchell led Lamar with 11 points.

GREEN FOREST 43, LAVACA 28

Nikki Mullen scored 14 points and Tara Mullen added 12 as Green Forest (22-4) eased past Lavaca (16-12).

Jaci Taylor and Aerial Hutchinson led Lavaca with nine point each.

Sports, Pages 17 on 02/25/2011

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