Amid rough season, illnesses, injuries prompt Lincoln basketball teams to forfeit Seeley, Granite games

Nagging injuries, COVID-19 and other illnesses prompted Lincoln Athletic Director Shane Brown to sideline the Lincoln basketball teams last week, forfeiting games against Seeley Lake and Granite High schools

"The girls and the boys are kind of banged-up and sick, so we don't know if we're going to be able to suit five to start the game," Brown said.

Due to concerns about COVID-19, both the boys and girls teams are playing with a bare minimum of players.

The girls team has just five players, while the boys have just six players, three of whom were brought up from the 8th grade.

Brown and his son Andrew, one of the players, are both in quarantine with their family due to a close contact with a COVID case, while some of the boys have non-COVID related illnesses, and both the boys and the girls have seen minor injuries.

Rather than spreading any illnesses or exacerbating any injuries, Brown thought it was prudent take last weekend off.

Given the lack of a bench, the possibility of losing one or two players for the season is a serious concern, since the basketball teams could be bumped down to JV status next year if they miss too many games this year. As they head into the second half of the season, Brown's not overly concerned about that.

"We'll take a couple forfeits, which isn't going to hurt us in the big picture," he said. "We've already played several games, so if we can keep moving forward and get to districts, that's all I'm worried about."

Brown admitted this season has been a tough one for the athletes.

"It's been frustrating. The kids, they seem to be keeping themselves together," he said. "They get down during the games, but rebound and pick themselves up afterwards."

Brown said they understand the games are going to be tough and that they have a lot of work to do, but peer pressure from kids who didn't go out for the teams seems to be a bigger issue than losses.

"They've been dealing more with peer pressure from some of the other kids, who are telling them to quit," he said. "That's probably weighing on them more than anything else."

Friday night is senior night as both the boys and girls teams take on Darby at home. The boys then face off against Drummond at home Saturday, while the ladies travel to Drummond to take on the Lady Trojans. Next week the teams will travel to Seeley Lake, Thursday, Feb. 4 for their games against the Blackhawks, and split locations for their Feb.5 contests against Valley Christian.