After losing five starters from a state tournament team last season, the Lincoln boys basketball team had a lot of questions.

And to start the year, the Bulldogs got answers to many of those after a strong performance at the Bixby Invitational.

Lincoln took 5th place as a team, going 2-1 over the weekend, including a big win in the consolation finals.

Lincoln lost on Thursday in the season opener to Rogers (AR) in a close 64-58 game, but rebounded nicely with a win over Will Rogers on Friday afternoon 63-23.

The Bulldogs got a big win early in the season to cap off the week with a 49-45 win over (6A) Putnam City on Saturday afternoon, leaving town as consolation champs.

"We answered some major questions this weekend as we opened our season," said Lincoln head coach Jonathan Hopkins. "We played Rogers, AR, the 3rd or 4th largest school in Arkansas, Tulsa Rogers (5A) and Putnam City (6A), who beat us last year in the Duncan Tournament."

Hopkins was excited at how his team played against three larger school opponents, as the Bulldogs acclimated quickly and competed all weekend.

"We played three large schools, and responded like we belonged on the court with all three of them," Hopkins said.

Hopkins was most impressed with his teams toughness, stating that the Bulldogs showed big-time fortitude — especially on the glass — so early on in the season. 

"This team has grit," he said. "This is the toughest team that I've had here at Lincoln. We tied Rogers, AR on the boards and beat Putnam City on the boards. Both teams were taller. We did a great job of making contact with our man and finishing the blockout. I was really proud of our guys for finishing defensive possessions with a blockout and rebound. We showed a lot of discipline with our block outs."

Lincoln's three seniors, Chandler Cozbey, Jamie Ploch and Chase Jobe, each played a big role for the Bulldogs over the weekend.

"Our three seniors carried us," Hopkins said. Chandler played big in all three games and was chosen for the all-tournament team. Chase had a double-double in the second game. He does a lot for us that doesn't show up in the scorebook. He's a guy that we want touching it just about every possession whether he shoots it or not. The ball moves quickly through his hands. Good things happen when he touches it.

Jamie had some timely points in the paint in the Putnam City game. His inside presence will be needed as this season progresses."

Several newcomers have also already contributed in big ways for Lincoln, including junior Levi Kruse, and sophomores Aiden Hendren and Damyan Stokes.

"Levi was steady in all three games and stepped up in the final seconds to seal the win. He is a high IQ kid that just consistently makes the right play. His upside is limitless because he's fearless," Hopkins said. "Aiden has not played a whole lot of competitive basketball since he is a high level baseball player. He's another young, fearless player. He's undersized for the position he plays, but makes up for it with relentlessness. He is a ball hawk who has a knack for winning 50/50 balls. He lead us in rebounding this weekend."

"Damyan was clutch for us off the bench Saturday. He was 2-for-2 with a bucket and a three in the the third quarter run when we took the lead. He's another sophomore that has limitless upside."

Ultimately, Hopkins knows there will be ups and downs throughout the season with such a new group and guys stepping into larger roles.

But he is excited about what he's seen thus far.

"We still have a lot of questions, but it's early. We have time to find some answers. We need another player or two to step up to give us some depth," he said. But I love our unity. This is a team that doesn't care who scores or who gets the credit. These guys are great teammates and are all willing to make winning plays whether they show up in the scorebook or not."

"These guys are having fun together, and they are fun to watch. We have a ton of work left ahead of us, but this weekend was a great first step."

Lincoln hosts Metro Christian in the home opener before heading to the Sequoyah Invitational in Tahlequah this weekend.

Lincoln opens play vs. Alma (AR) on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

ROGERS (AR) 64, LINCOLN 58

In the season opener, Lincoln got down big early but battled back late in a valiant effort against Rogers (AR).

The Bulldogs fell behind 23-14 through a quarter and 39-28 at halftime.

However an 20-13 run pulled Lincoln with two possessions early in the 4th before Rogers made a run to close the game out.

"Our experience showed in the first round as we fell behind early. I could see our lack of experience in in our eyes, but not in our effort. After the first five or six minutes, we settled in and competed. We chipped away at our double digit deficit, but we never got closer than four points."

Rogers made 11 threes in the game — including seven in the first half to jump out to the big lead.

"I'll give Rogers a ton of credit," Hopkins said. "Those guys shot the ball really well and made big shots when we got close."

Lincoln shot 42% from the floor as a team.

"I wish we could have some of those early possessions back in defense. We did not rotate very quickly," Hopkins said. "We had deer in the headlight looks in our eyes and gave up five points on two wide open shots in the first two possessions of the game."

Cozbey had a career-high 28 points to open his senior season, finishing 9-of-15 from the floor and going 8-of-11 from the foul line.

He added six assists, three boards and two steals.

Jobe chipped in eight points, while Ploch finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Kruse had eight points and five boards, while Hendren finished with just two points but had a team-high eight rebounds.

LINCOLN 62, WILL ROGERS 23

The Bulldogs got out to a big lead early and never looked back, cruising to a big victory on Friday over Will Rogers.

Lincoln led 16-7 after a quarter and 33-16 at half.

The Bulldogs started the 3rd on a 13-2 run to push the lead to over 30 late in the quarter.

Lincoln held Will Rogers to just 17% from the floor in the game. The Bulldogs shot 42% as a team and made nine threes.

Lincoln forced 23 turnovers resulting in a 26-2 edge in points off takeaways.

The Bulges also had a 28-12 edge in paint scoring, as well as a 14-4 advantage in fast break points.

Jobe led the way for Lincoln with a career-high 19 points, along with 10 rebounds and four assists.

Cozbey had eight points, three boards and two assists, while Hendren also chipped in eight points and six boards.

Ploch had six points, four rebounds and two assists. Luke Campbell, Cole Dooley and Keller Tarp each finished with five points for Lincoln.

LINCOLN 49, PUTNAM CITY 45

The Bulldogs got a big win over a big-time opponent on Saturday afternoon in Bixby in the consolation championship, holding on against Putnam City.

After trailing 25-22 at half, Lincoln opened the second half on an 11-3 run before Putnam City regained the lead 39-37 early in the 4th.

But the Bulldogs made the plays dow note stretch they needed to, getting up 44-39 late and holding on in the final minutes.

"Putnam City was a very long and athletic team," Hopkins said. "Once again, we fell behind early and had to battle our way back. This time, when we got close, we were able to make stops on defense and take the lead in the 3rd quarter."

"We never pulled away, but battled through the 4th quarter through ties and lead changes, before securing the win with a Levi Kruse steal with about four seconds remaining."

Cozbey led the way for Lincoln with 17 points on 5-of-8 from the field. He added three boards, four assists and two steals.

Ploch had 13 points and five boards for Lincoln.

Hendren added six points and eight rebounds in just 17 minutes. 

Along with the big steal, Kruse had four points, three boards and two assists. Stokes had five points and three rebounds in 21 minutes of key action off the bench.


Photos by Lee Talley