Lincoln Wolves sweep Lions

LINCOLN -- The Wolves boys' and girls' basketball teams both held home-court advantage with the boys winning 61-51 and girls also beating Gravette, 60-47, on Friday.

In the midst of Basketball Homecoming, neither squad allowed any distractions to take away their edge while vying for key conference wins.

Boys

Lincoln 61, Gravette 51

First-year Gravette coach Greg White and his squad are trying to work through a mid-season roster adjustment.

"We're a different team right now," White said. "There are a couple of guys no longer in the program, who logged big minutes for us. The seniors are showing great leadership. The big thing is we're out there competing and getting better."

Lincoln attacked the Lions' defensive schemes targeted on preventing the Wolves' Shandon "Biggie" Goldman from getting open looks. Roni Castaneda hit a pair of 3-pointers early, one on an assist from Alec Pitts, who also beat Gravette in transition for a layup. He utilized a lateral dribble to sidestep a defender and knock down an 18-footer, then came back with a 3-pointer as the Wolves opened up a 13-4 lead six minutes into the contest.

"We had a lot of players step up," said Lincoln coach Tim Rich. "Roni Castenada scored 21. His points were huge. Roni did a great job, not only scoring, but also taking care of the ball and running the offense for us."

"Cord [McCaslin] and [Alec] Pitts, the first five all played really well together," Rich said. "They knew what was going on. Homecoming kind of changes everything up but they were ready to go, to show up and work hard like they did."

Jackson Soule hit a scoop shot in the lane and Zac Carleton nailed a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to trim Lincoln's lead to 13-9. The Wolves upped the ante, stretching their lead to six points at halftime, 22-16.

Castenada drove for a layup, then hit another trey after Soule's driving score as Lincoln took a 35-20 advantage 4:52 into the third quarter, aided by long outlets from Goldman, who was clearing defensive rebounds. At the end of the third, Gravette found themselves in a 40-24 hole and Goldman found Castenada releasing for a layup to start the fourth. Cole Turner pulled the Lions within, 50-40, at the 2:34 mark of the fourth only to have Dalton Barnum answer with a run-out going the other way. Lincoln held off the Lions, 61-51.

"[Shandon] Biggie [Goldman] knows the game great. He doesn't force stuff. He had 16 rebounds tonight, five or six assists, that's just huge," Rich said. "You don't always have to score to have a big impact. He didn't shoot all night but he stepped up and made some free throws down the stretch."

Girls

Lincoln 60, Gravette 47

A quick start with buckets by Jaycie Neeley (driving lay-in), Courtney Lloyd (putback), Taylor Cunningham (layup on assist from Neeley), and Ashtyn Rothrock (3-pointer) powered Lincoln to a 9-2 advantage 1:42 into the game. Maddie Foster recorded Gravette's second field goal when she saw an open path to the hoop and scored at the 5:09 mark. Sydney Hicks converted a pair of foul shots in the last five seconds of the opening period to draw the Lady Lions within, 17-10.

Lincoln fashioned a 6-0 run, getting free throws from Kendra Cummings, Neeley and Cunningham to forge a 23-10 lead. Chasity Hubbard broke the run with a pair of charity shots for Gravette before another 10-4 run by Lincoln put the Lady Wolves in front, 33-16, at the half.

A low-scoring third quarter saw Lincoln edge ahead even further on the scoreboard, at 41-22, with Lloyd knocking both ends of a 1-and-1 followed by Neeley's drive and dish to Madison Rich for an open 3-pointer. A 3-0 run by Gravette was matched by Cummings' trifecta on a kickout from Lloyd giving Lincoln a 44-25 cushion at the end of three periods of play.

Gravette played better in the fourth quarter, cutting into Lincoln's lead. Hubbard put in a teammate's miss and Foster dialed up a three. Jaye Chalk scored on a long outlet and Foster turned a steal of a careless in-bounds pass into layup. Gravette was down, 49-37, with 5:21 remaining but couldn't overcome having four players foul out, and Lincoln won, 60-47.

"We played hard with some grit," said Gravette coach Will Pittman. "We had a rough one in Gentry the other night, but I was real proud of our girls tonight and how hard they played. Lincoln's got a good bunch."

Sports on 01/28/2015