Lincoln Advances To Regional Finals

STAFF PHOTO SAMANTHA BAKER • @NWASAMANTHA Ty Tice, right, of Prairie Grove shoots for three Friday against Lincoln during the 4A Regional Basketball Tournament in Lincoln.

STAFF PHOTO SAMANTHA BAKER • @NWASAMANTHA Ty Tice, right, of Prairie Grove shoots for three Friday against Lincoln during the 4A Regional Basketball Tournament in Lincoln.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

LINCOLN -- Ossy Escareno exhorted the home crowd to make some noise. He pumped his fist and waved as the Wolves faithful filled the arena with cheers.

Escareno didn't fill the stat sheet with gaudy numbers Friday night in Lincoln's 47-35 win against Prairie Grove in the semifinals of the 4A-North Regional Tournament. But what the 6-foot senior brings to the Wolves is not always measured in numbers.

4A-North Regional Tournament

At Lincoln

Girls

First Round

Wednesday’s Games

Prairie Grove (1st 1) 40, Waldron (4th 4) 39

Berryville (4th 1) 64, Pottsville (1st 4) 48

Thursday’s Games

Ozark (3rd 1) 56, Mena (2nd 4) 37

Farmington (2nd 1) 57, Dover (3rd 4) 23

Friday’s Games

Ozark 51, Prairie Grove 35

Farmington 57, Berryville 52

Today’s Games

Prairie Grove vs. Berryville, noon

Ozark vs. Farmington, 6 p.m.

Boys

First Round

Wednesday’s Games

Prairie Grove (1st 1) 65, Dardanelle (4th 4), 47

Maumelle (1st 4) 75, Gravette (4th 1) 54

Thursday’s Games

Lincoln (3rd 1) 63, Subiaco Academy (2nd 4) 45

Pottsville (3rd 4), 48, Farmington (2nd 1) 33

Friday’s Games

Lincoln 47, Prairie Grove 35

Maumelle 79, Pottsville 76

Today’s Games

Prairie Grove vs. Pottsville, 1:30 p.m.

Lincoln vs. Maumelle, 7:30 p.m.

Boys

Lincoln 47, Prairie Grove 35

Lincoln^9^14^13^11^—^47

Prairie Grove^7^11^4^13^—^35

Lincoln (21-4): Goldman 13, Escareno 9, Brewer 9, Cummings 8, Hulse 5, McConnell 3.

Prairie Grove (17-12): Soehner 13, Tice 7, Pursell 7, Arguello 3, Storlie 3, Galligan 2.

"He leads in probably every category we have, except for blocked shots," Lincoln boys basketball coach Tim Rich said. "He's our heart and soul. He rebounds, he finds open teammates. He's just a great asset to any team."

Escareno scored nine points on Friday, but did not make a field goal until there were 30 seconds left in the game. Prior to that he made 7-of-9 free throws, grabbed 11 rebounds and had several nice assists as the Wolves advanced to tonight's regional championship game.

Rich said the strength of Escareno's game is his versatility. He proved that again against Prairie Grove (17-12) as he led the charge for the Wolves to dominate the offensive glass, leading to numerous second and third chances on the offensive end.

"Coach Rich tells us you have to hustle," Escareno said. "Even when your shots don't fall, you can help the teams in other ways. Being able to do other things just makes me play harder."

The Wolves (21-4) seized control of Friday's game by hustling for rebounds on the offensive end. The extra scoring chances proved huge, especially in the third quarter when the Wolves took over the game.

"I didn't think we did a very good job on the boards," Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston said. "I thought we did a pretty good job of challenging their shots, but seemed like there were lots of long rebounds coming off were we weren't ready."

Shandon Goldman, Lincoln's 6-8 junior forward, fueled a 13-0 third quarter run that turned a three-point Wolves lead into a 16-point blowout. Goldman, who led Lincoln with 13 points, scored on a floater from the left side of the lane, then drilled a pair of 3-pointers to key the surge.

Prairie Grove kept the game close in the first half by going inside to 6-7 sophomore Dylan Soehner, who scored 12 points. But once Lincoln took control, the Tigers did not have an answer.

"This is the first time in a long time Lincoln has gone to a regional championship," Escareno said. "We need to get a good seeding to help our chances at state."

The Wolves lost to Prairie Grove in the semifinals of the district tournament last week by one point. Escareno said the team used that as motivation for a better showing on its home floor.

"That kind of put us in a bad spot, but we know we can beat anybody," he said. "All of us seniors, we did not want to go out in the first round."

Girls

Ozark 51, Prairie Grove 35

The No. 3 seed Lady Hillbillies blew a close game open in the third quarter and cruised into today's championship game.

Celia Heffington led three Ozark players in double figures with 14 points. Kylie Ladd added 11 points and Olivia Melton 10.

Ozark led 19-17 at halftime, but seized control with a 19-6 scoring burst in the third quarter.

Lacy Beeks led Prairie Grove in scoring with 13 points and Abby Smith added 9.

Farmington 57, Berryville 52

Tichino Scales scored 15 points and Farmington advanced to today's championship game. The Lady Cardinals will take on Ozark.

Haley Maxwell added 12 for Farmington and Tayton Hopkins scored 10.

Allison Smith and Alex McCallister scored 10 points each for Berryville.

Sports on 03/01/2014