The Lincoln Land men's basketball dropped a heartbreaker to the Eagles of Illinois Valley Community College, 86-84.
The Loggers started out totally flat and allowed IVCC to go up 9-0 to start the game. That lead got pushed out to a 12-1 advantage. From that point the Loggers roared back to tie the game at 18. Lincoln Land eventually settled in and continued out-pacing the Eagles to run out to a 24-20 edge. However, another lull hit LLCC who found themselves on the wrong end of an 11-0 run. Lincoln Land battled back and a three right before the half by sophomore Jake Pennell tied the game at 38.
The Loggers got the first two buckets of the second half and got up 43-38, their largest lead of the game. Both sides traded baskets for the next few minutes and Lincoln Land's last two possession advantage was at 57-53. The teams were knotted at 61 with just under 10:00 to go in the game. The game got out of LLCC's hands at this point as IVCC went on a 13-2 run over the next 3:30 to tie their game high lead of 11 with the score at 74-63. Not ready to let the game be over, sophomore Jake Pennell got hot and the Loggers came all the way back to 80-79 with 2:52 to go. Pennell put in a fade away shot with :14 left to tie the game at 84. In a scramble, IVCC found a cutter to the basket and got an and-one basket to go up to the eventual final 86-84. A missed free throw and a timeout gave Lincoln Land one last chance with 3.1 left. A half court heave, that looked like it had a chance the whole way, bounced off the rim and the Loggers came up just short.
Although the Loggers put in a great effort, the loss drops Lincoln Land to 0-10 on the year. Pennell led LLCC with a career high 25, while also grabbing 5 boards, and a pair of steals and assists in a full game effort. Sophomore Nic Hagel added 17, and freshman Jordan Brooks played well and chipped in 11 and had a team high 5 assists. Freshman TJ Gaines had his best effort of the season by getting a double-double with 13 points, and a game high 13 rebounds. The stats went mostly in the Logger's way as they out-rebounded IVCC 31-28, 3 more offensive boards, grabbed more steals, and went 15/19 from the free throw line, compared to 6/8. Two critical stats went against the Loggers: shooting percentage and turnovers (-2).
Lincoln Land has a quick turnaround as they take on STL Community College Monday night at home to try to grab their first victory.
