Final after OT:
Lincoln Land - 67
John Wood - 69
The Lincoln Land men's basketball team saw their season end in heartbreaking fashion as a buzzer beater in overtime put the Blazers of John Wood past the Loggers in overtime of Region 24 postseason play, 69-67.
The Loggers came out ready for a battle and raced out to an 8-0 lead to start the game and John Wood called a timeout to stop the run. Lincoln Land played well throughout the half. The Loggers trailed on only 2 occasions in the first half at 18-16 and 24-23. After the second deficit the Loggers closed the half on a 21-9 run and led by 11 at 45-34 at the break.
The Loggers knew a run by John Wood would happen, but unfortunately the run came right at the start of the half with a Blazer 9-0 to cut the lead back to 2 points. With 5:30 to play the Loggers still held a lead at 60-55. John Wood went on a 7-0 run and took their first lead of the second half and in fact was the first time they did not trail since 8:00 to go in the first half. The Loggers immediately responded with a three pointer by freshman Trace Gentry to put the Loggers back on top. John Wood got one free throw on the next possession to tie the game at 63 with 2:35 to go. Each team got two possessions, but neither team converted on either opportunity and at the end of regulation the score remained tied at 63. The Loggers trailed for a total of three possessions the entire regulation and were only tied for four.
Defense was the key in overtime as neither team was able to score early on. John Wood was the first to break the tie going up 65-63. The Loggers immediately tied it back up and a few possessions later a basket by D'Aaron Owens tied it with 1:07 to go in the game. Neither team converted on their next two possessions and John Wood was in possession with :18 left in the game. Gabe McKenzie for John Wood, the leading scorer in the Region, converted on a contested shot with 0.3 on the clock. A last second pass attempt was intercepted and the Loggers found themselves on the losing end of the 69-67 final.
"We played our tails off tonight and we did everything we needed to to win and just came up short to a very talented player and team. I am nothing but amazingly proud of our effort tonight and this team. This one is tough to swallow." Reflected Head Coach following the season ending loss.
The glaring stat that hurt the Loggers tonight was rebounding, as they were out rebounded 37-21. The Loggers pulled in only 17 defensive rebounds as John Wood got 11 offensive boards. Most of those offensive rebounds ended in second chance points for the Blazers.
Lincoln Land was led in scoring by freshman D'Aaron Owens with 17. Freshman Trace Gentry and Sophomore Alex Portwood each connected on 4 threes. Gentry ended with 16 and Portwood ended with those 12. Gentry pulled in a team high 6 rebounds as well.
Sophomore Alex Portwood ended the year as the Logger's leading scorer and rebounder.
Portwood, Sam Kaufman, Jeff McChristy, Harold Robertson, Nolan Luke, and Ryan Below saw their Loggers careers end this evening. Lincoln Land will always thank them for their dedication and efforts.
Lincoln Land ends the year at 15-14.
