Lancer boys battle, but lose to Pirates

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

Monday’s non-conference game between the Lincolnview Lancers and the Continental Pirates was like a roller coaster ride, with plenty of ups and downs.

Against a deep and experienced Continental squad, Lincolnview led by as many as 11 in the first quarter and 10 early in the second quarter before getting behind by one at halftime. The Lancers trailed by nine in the third quarter, then trimmed it to one in the fourth quarter, but fell eventually 57-44.

“I think you can attribute that to a young team,” head coach Brett Hammons said. “I thought we came out and shot the ball well, but Continental did a good job changing it up, and they went to their zone defense, and we started to settle for outside shots.”

The Lancers looked good early on, racing out to a 15-4 lead midway through the first quarter. Chayten Overholt accounted for eight of his 10 points, including two three-pointers.

Lincolnview (1-2) opened the second quarter with a shot by Caden Ringwald and a three-point basket by Tristin Miller to push the lead to 20-10 with 6:55 on the clock. But the Lancers were unable to hit another field goal the rest of the quarter, and well into the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the Pirates slowly chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 20 with 3:15 remaining in the second quarter. A free throw by Lincolnview’s Zane Miller a minute later gave the Lancers a 21-20 advantage. It would prove to be the Lancers’ final lead of the game.

Continental (3-1) led 22-21 at halftime, then scored the first nine points of the third quarter to take a 30-21 lead before Lincolnview connected on four consecutive free throws. Ringwald accounted for the Lancers’ final points of the third quarter: a basket with 2:48 left, a free throw, then a three-pointer at the buzzer to trim the deficit to three. He finished the game with a team-high 22 points.

The Lancers pulled to within one three different times in the fourth quarter, then went scoreless for over three minutes, while the Pirates scored the next 11 points to lead 49-37 with 1:47 left. Continental’s Wade Stauffer accounted for seven points during the run. From there, the Pirates hit free throws to secure the victory.

“This is a teaching moment for our young kids,” Hammons said. “We need five kids to step up and play, along with our bench.”

“They’re learning, and they’re playing hard,” Hammons added. “We just have to do things a little smarter and execute a little better when it’s needed.”

Things don’t get easier for the Lancers. Lincolnview will open Northwest Conference competition at Spencerville (3-1) Friday night, then will play at Wayne Trace (3-0) Saturday night.

Lincolnview at Wayne Trace will air live on 99.7 WKSD, and will stream live on The Van Wert Independent (www.thevanwertindependent.com).

Boxscore

Lincolnview 15 6 10 13–-44

Continental   8 14 12 23–-57

Lincolnview (44) — Caden Ringwald 22, Ryan Rager 4, Chayten Overholt 10, Tristin Miller 3, Zane Miller 1, Isiac Bowersock 4.

Continental (57) — Wade Stauffer 24, Jacob Williams 10, Trevor Williamson 9, Tyler Brecht 5, Caleb Olds 5, Chris Potts 2, Nick States 2.

JV: Lincolnview won 42-24.