Ossy Escareno led Lincoln in scoring again, but it was the play of Dylan McConnell and Colby Barnum that sealed a 56-50 victory at Prairie Grove on Tuesday.
Barnum, a senior center, scored only four points but he got behind the Prairie Grove defense and made a layup to give Lincoln a 39-38 lead in the third quarter. McConnell, a junior, followed with consecutive 3-point goals to put the Wolves ahead 47-42 after three quarters.
Barnum then blocked a shot and grabbed the ball, where he fed McConnell for a layup after Prairie Grove had tied the game 48-48 on two free throws by Ty Tice. The combination of Barnum and McConnell struck again when Barnum assisted on a layup by McConnell to give Lincoln a 52-48 lead with about one minute left to play.
McConnell finished with 17 points and Escareno had 18 to lead Lincoln (10-9, 6-3 4A-1 Conference).
“That’s two games in a row where Dylan has come in and really stepped it up,” Lincoln coach Tim Rich said of McConnell, who scored a late basket in last week’s 52-50 victory over Pea Ridge. “As for Barnum, he’s a guy who shows up ready to work day in and day out. Nothing fancy. He just gets after it and he’s always guarding one of the other team’s top players.”
— RICK FIRES
Lady Cards Use Balance
Tiffany Rhame and Haley Maxwell had 13 points each and Christy Duchanois added 10 as Farmington easily rolled its third consecutive 4A-1 Conference girls basketball win Tuesday, 54-31 at Ozark.
Rene Scheyder added eight points and Lindsey Blackburn chipped in five as the Lady Cardinals build a 10-point lead at halftime and pulled away in the closing quarter.
Farmington (17-4, 8-1 4A-1) begins a three-game homestand on Friday. First up is Gravette, followed by Berryville on Jan. 29 and Lincoln on Feb. 1.
The Lady Cardinals still sit alone in second place in the 4A-1 Conference, just one game behind Prairie Grove. The Lady Tigers defeated Farmington, 56-44 on Jan. 11, and the two teams will rematch in the regular season finale in Farmington on Feb. 8.
— VERNON TARVER