Lynx riding a winning streak

It's been a tough season for the boy's varsity basketball team in Lincoln. Losing several games by only one basket, "games we should have won," according to Coach Brown, the tide seems to be turning for the Lynx.

Coming off a close away game win in Augusta Friday night, the Lynx had only a quick recovery time for the Saturday face-off at home with the Eagles of Valley Christian School. With their fast-paced run and gun offense, the Eagles took the floor with confidence and skill, making 14 straight points while the Lynx were still at ground zero. Uh oh. One Lincoln fan was heard saying, "Well, we might as well go home now."

If he had walked out, he would have missed the most exciting varsity game of the century. Clawing their way back, the Lynx slowly began to post scores and contain the runaway train that had been the Eagles. There were stumbles along the way: lazy passes picked off for turnovers and scores by the Eagles, Trenton Grantier managing to accumulate three fouls within 34 seconds (a new record), and long balls from Brodi Henderson that refused to fall through.

But the Lynx refused to give up. "We knew we could win. We just had to find a way and get our rhythm going," said senior Nathan Brown. "The win last night pumped us up and gave us a lot of energy."

That energy translated into 43 points for Brown, an incredible career high mark. The ferocious defense from Valley Christian defeated most of the Lynx offensive plans and they fell back on the only scheme that worked: "four out," a perimeter game that draws defenders out of the key and also sets up long ball opportunities.

With the score tied in the fourth period, 54-54, Brown sank a three pointer and the hopeful Lincoln men began to wrestle the ball away from Valley in every possession. It started to look like 'fight night.'

But then 6-foot-3 Grantier fouled out and 5-foot-5 freshman Hayden Dempster took his spot. Unnoticed, Dempster faded back down the floor to position himself under the Lynx goal. Suddenly, a full court pass launched through the air and landed right in his hands. Hayden jumped for an easy lay up and with 52 seconds left, the Lynx were up by four.

Bradley Howard got buried under two big Eagle bodies who fell on top of him during these last frantic seconds, but he got the call to the charity stripe and, despite obvious pain, he made one of them. Lincoln ahead by five.

To seal the deal, Nathan Brown plowed over an Eagle whose block was not set properly and Brown's call to the free throw line put the Lynx ahead, 64-57, the final score.