No. 20 Lincoln Christian wrapped up the regular season last week, picking up a big home win on Monday and bringing home the school's 5th straight district title on Friday night.

Lincoln (11-14) got a big win over Locust Grove, coming from behind on senior night to win 53-51.

The Bulldogs lost the regular season finale in a tough one at No. 18 Victory Christian on Tuesday, falling 59-52.

But Lincoln bounced back in a big way, cruising in the Class 3A District Tournament on Friday at home over Sperry 60-22.

And the Bulldogs all of a sudden have some momentum going into the regional tournament, despite battling injuries and moving parts in the lineup for most of the season.

"It's been a pretty hectic finish to the regular season," said Lincoln head coach Jonathan Hopkins. "In a span of 12 days, we played our final five regular season games and started playoffs. It's been especially grueling given the fact that we've recently been juggling some injuries to a few of our starters and an ACL injury to one of our seniors."

The Bulldogs have had their optimal lineup for just a handful of games this season, which has made it tough to develop a consistent rhythm.

"Looking at our schedule, we've only played nine games (out of 25) with a full lineup," said Hopkins. "Given the fact that football played through the middle of December, we've only played five games all season with a full lineup."

That has provided Hopkins the opportunity to get a look at some guys in spots he may not have expected in the regular season, but it has made things challenging amidst a very tough schedule.

"As far as our lineup goes, we've had a lot of moving pieces this season," Hopkins. "When all of the pieces are available, we know what this team can be and what we are capable of doing."

"The beauty of having to move guys around to different positions is the fact that we've been able to develop some guys out of their natural positions and create some diversity to our lineup options. The bad part is that we haven't had continuity to our roles."

Regardless, Hopkins is proud of his group, especially his seniors, who have answered the call all year and been a true leading group for this year's team.

"This is an unselfish group that is led by three senior starters," he said. "These three are willing to do whatever it takes to win, and they don't care who gets the credit. They also know that they have three capable juniors that can give us a boost if necessary."

The Bulldogs will face Casady on Tuesday night in Hennessey at 7:30 p.m. in the regional semifinals.

"They are a team with a losing record, but they have battled injuries all season as well," Hopkins said. "It's a very similar situation to us, but they're got everyone back and healthy at the end of January. However, that's where the similarities end. They have two starters that are 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8  in their starting lineup."

"This will be a tough matchup for us. We will have to play physical and sty out or foul trouble."

LINCOLN 53, LOCUST GROVE 51

In a come-from-behind win last Monday, Lincoln's seniors delivered when they had to down the stretch.

Lincoln trailed 46-40 late but a flurry of buckets by Chandler Cozbey and plays by fellow seniors Jamie Ploch and Chase Jobe, as well as junior Rain Ragland, helped the Bulldogs get the stops and scores when they needed to.

"It was a special night," said Hopkins. "It was great to see Jamie return. I'm not sure we win that game without him. There was a void inside on both ends of the court during his six-game absence."

The Bulldogs led 31-22 at halftime but lost the lead 34-31 late in the 3rd after Locust Grove went on a 12-0 run to start the quarter.

Lincoln responded with a 6-0 run to retake the lead before Locust eventually led by six midway through the 4th.

After Lincoln trails 51-50 late, Cozbey scored a bucket down the stretch and made a free throw in the closing seconds before the Pirates final attempt was off the mark.

Cozbey was outstanding in his final regular season home game, scoring a game-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.

Jobe had 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Ragland had eight points, five rebounds and three steals, while Ploch had seven and three boards in his first game back from injury.

"Rain has done a great job holding down the fort while Jamie was out, but we are a lot better when they are both on the floor," Hopkins said. "With both of them in the floor, one guy can guard and blockout their biggest guy, while the other guy is free to help and grab rebounds. We win more 50/50 balls when they are both in the floor."

The Bulldogs had a huge advantage inside, outscoring the Pirates 32-20 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 34-15.

Lincoln also had a 15-5 edge in second chance points.

VICTORY 59, LINCOLN 52

After trailing big early, Lincoln made a run in the late 3rd but was unable to outlast Victory in the final regular season game of the season.

The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 10 early in the 2nd quarter but battled back to trail just 31-27 at half.

Lincoln took the lead late in the 3rd with a triple to go ahead 36-34, but it would be the Bulldogs final lead of the game as Victory led 45-41 heading to the 4th.

Lincoln shot just 42% in the loss, while Victory shot 53% as a team.

The Bulldogs were just 2-of-20 from behind the arc.

Sophomore forward Aiden Hendren had 19 points and 11 boards on 7-of-12 from the floor to lead the way for Lincoln.

Jobe had nine and Cozbey had eight, while sophomore Damyan Stokes and Ragland each finished with six.

LINCOLN 60, SPERRY 22

The Bulldogs were in control from start to finish on Friday night in the district title vs. Sperry.

Lincoln opened the game on a 10-0 run and led 19-4 at the end of the 1st quarter.

The Bulldogs led 35-12 at half and 46-16 late in the 3rd.

All 12 Bulldogs scored in the win, as Lincoln led in most categories.

Stokes led the way with nine, while Cozbey had eight, Keller Tarp had six and Ploch finished with six points and six boards.

Ragland, Cole Dooley, Cayden Mathurin and Jobe finished with five. Dooley had seven boards and Mathrurin had five steals.

Levi Kruse had four points and eight rebounds.

"We always go into a game with a primary offensive plan. If the defense takes our primary away, we know that we have several different secondary options available," Hopkins said.

"Last week was a perfect example. On Monday, Chandler led the way. On Tuesday, Aiden was the leader for us and on Friday, everyone scored."

Lincoln forced 29 turnovers in the win, while scoring 29 points off those takeaways.

The Bulldogs had a 17-2 edge in second chance points, a 24-16 advantage in paint scoring and a 13-8 margin in transition points.

Lincoln held Sperry to just 18% from the floor and 1-of 14 from three in the win.

 

Photos by Lee Talley