Cardinals and Gremlins championship bound

The Lincoln Cardinals used a balanced scoring attack to stage the first upset of the Kaysinger Conference Tournament. Lincoln, the fourth seed, played a solid fourth quarter and knocked off the top-seeded Cole Camp Bluebirds 52-46 on Thursday night in semifinal play.

The Cardinals jumped out early, leading 12-8 after one quarter and 31-23 at halftime, but Cole Camp made a run in the third quarter. The Bluebirds outscored Lincoln 14-3 in the third to take a 37-34 lead, but Lincoln converted just enough at the free throw line in the fourth to grab the win.

“Credit to our kids. The last four or five games, we’ve probably played the best basketball we’ve played all year. Any coach will tell you that you sure like to be peaking at this time,” said Lincoln coach Bobby Gillespie.

Lincoln (14-5) began the game running a patient offense against the Cole Camp zone. The Cardinals worked the ball around the perimeter and created open looks for a variety of players, helping Lincoln grab the early advantage.

On the other end, Cole Camp struggled on offense. The Bluebirds turned the ball over and rushed shots.

“We didn’t come ready to play offensively. We knew we had to attack the basket, and we were overanxious to attack the basket. We had twelve travels. Then we got out of rhythm,” said Cole Camp coach Tom Ward.

Lincoln continued to be patient in the second, and when Alec Crull nailed a 3-pointer, the Cardinals led 26-19.
Gillespie was pleased with his team’s patience on offense.

“The thing we’re starting to learn, we’re getting more and more patient offensively,” he said.

Trailing 31-23 entering the third quarter, Cole Camp came out with renewed energy and immediately began to cut into the deficit. The Bluebirds, keyed by the scoring of Tyler Rusk, scored 14 straight points to grab a 37-31 lead with less than a minute left in the quarter.
Jason Culpepper hit a 3-pointer to end the run, but Cole Camp still held a three point advantage entering the fourth.

After Lincoln fought back to tie the game at 39, Crull hit a 3-pointer with 3:45 remaining in the game that gave Lincoln a lead it would never surrender.

The Cardinals, led by Culpepper, made just enough free throws and got just enough defensive stops down the stretch to hold on for the win and advance to the title game on Saturday.

Culpepper led all scorers with 20 points, while Crull chipped in with nine, and Earl Pierce and Stuart Brethower each added seven.
Rusk led Cole Camp with 16 and Tyler Harris had nine.   

Sacred Heart 65,
Green Ridge 64

The Sacred Heart Gremlins avoided being the second upset of the night, scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter to erase a seven point deficit and advance to the finals.

The Gremlins went to their inside game, pounding the ball in the paint to Dylan Young and Jacob Harlan to counter the hot outside shooting of the Tigers.

Green Ridge raced out to an early lead behind the perimeter scoring of Brett Shoop and Chris Pottorff. Shoop, who scored 24 points, and Pottorff, who had 20, drilled outside shots and staked the Tigers to a 30-24 lead at halftime.

Pottorff continued his hot shooting in the third quarter, scoring five quick points and giving Green Ridge its biggest lead at 35-24. Sacred Heart answered with its size and strength.

Young worked the paint with Harlan and the Gremlins began to get back into the game.  Young and Harlan combined for 15 of Sacred Heart’s 17 points in the third quarter.

Sacred Heart picked up the pressure on defense, and chipped away at the offensive end. A 3-pointer by Wes Register, who finished with 16 points, gave Sacred Heart its first lead since the first quarter at 59-58.

Young scored on a conventional 3-pointer, and the Gremlins hit free throws, helping Sacred Heart secure the win despite a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Zak Tylar.

Harlan and Young each scored 17 points to lead Sacred Heart, and Chandler Homan added 12, including eight free throws in the second half.