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Lincoln Prep explode late; hand King’s Christian Collegiate 8th loss

By Jahnick Lambert, 01/11/17, 10:00PM EST

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The return of the OSBA was marked by a double-header to kick off the 2nd portion of this year’s season. In the second game of the King’s Christian Collegiate & Lincoln Prep showcase, the boys would follow their respective girl’s teams and get wins of their own. The King’s Christian boys have had a rough year so far and although they’ve been very competitive, they struggle to notch their fist win of the season. Although Lincoln Prep came into the game with a better record than King’s Christian, they’ve lost their last 3 games before the break and had to start getting wins if they hoped to move up in the standings.

Lincoln prep’s offense being centered around inside scoring and King’s Christian’s proficient perimeter shooting made for a fascinating 1st quarter, highlighting opposing styles of play. Lincoln’s Tyson Cato was the first to make his mark on the game with great ball movement, finding his teammates for corner 3’s. King’s Christian’s shooting early on was spotty but timely rebounds gave them second chance opportunities and kept them within 5 points at the end of the quarter.

 

After the players shook the mid-season break rust off, the teams were off to the races scoring relentlessly. Lincoln Prep seemed to be scoring or getting to the line every time they got inside. Behind Coleman Stucke’s red hot shooting King’s Christian got their offence on a roll. He sunk a handful of 3’s that sparked his team on the defensive end as they began to limit the Lincoln offense and force turnovers. The Lincoln players were helpless from the barrage of shooting all over the floor and both teams went back and forth exchanging leads until the half. Lincoln Prep was headed into the break with a small lead of 34-32.

 

In the 2nd half, both squads kept up the breakneck pace that they ended the first half with. King’s Christian continued to light up the defense with great shooting early in the quarter but issues began late as they started to rush their shots and took the first available option instead of the best option. Conversely, Lincoln prep had trouble with the stingy King’s interior defense but continued to press and get to the free throw line. The King’s defense kept them afloat for most of the frame but their offense would do them no favors. Once their offense began to break down, the defense would soon follow and Lincoln took advantage and showed signs of pulling away.

 

Going into the final quarter leading 57-51, Lincoln would take their biggest lead of the game early in the 4th. King’s Christian’s tried to remain competitive but unfortunately their reliance of jump shooting would undermine their offence once the deficit grew. In the last 4 minutes Tafari Simms would dominate, just as he had done most of the game, and Lincoln Prep would go on a 15-6 run to close out the game and take the 87-69 victory.

 

With the boys’ victory, Lincoln Prep swept the double-header against King’s Christian Collegiate and vaulted their team to a .500 record on the year (5-5). The next contest for Lincoln Prep will be a rematch of tonight’s contest on February 1st where they’ll look to also sweep them on the year. Tip-off is scheduled for 3pm. Despite failing to get a win in their first 8 games, King’s Christian continue to be competitive in every contest. Their next game is slated to be against Ridley College who currently aren’t too far ahead of them in the standings at 2-5. The game is scheduled for January 13th, tip-off at 8pm.