Lancers look sharp against Wayne Trace

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Big scoring runs in the second and third quarters, along with nearly a dozen three-pointers by the Lancers were key factors in Lincolnview’s 67-49 non-conference win over visiting Wayne Trace on Saturday.

It was the fourth consecutive win for Lincolnview (4-1), and the first loss for Wayne Trace (4-1).

Wayne Trace raced out to an 8-0 lead in the opening quarter and on two occasions the Raiders led by 10. Lincolnview was scoreless until Zane Miller’s layup put the Lancers on the scoreboard at the 4:30 mark and the hosts didn’t score again until the 38 second mark, when Jorge Salinas hit a pair of foul shots. Lincolnview’s only other basket in the quarter was supplied by Chayten Overholt with just three seconds before the buzzer.

“At the beginning of the game it was a little rough,” Lincolnview head coach Brett Hammons said. “We were getting good looks but we weren’t knocking them in.”

After an early second quarter trey by Nate Gerber put the Raiders up 19-8, the Lancers responded with a 12-0 run on the strength of four consecutive triples – including three in just 1:10 – to get back into the game. Caden Ringwald and Zane Miller hit back-to-back three-pointers, then Alek Bowersock drained a pair of threes to give Lincolnview a 20-19 lead.

Josiah Linder ended the run with a basket, then Reid Miller hit two foul shots for a 24-20 Wayne Trace lead. Two free throws by Ringwald and a bucket by Ethan Kemler tied the game at 24, then a trey by Ringwald and a free throw by Miller gave the Raiders a 28-24 advantage. Wayne Trace’s Trae Sinn’s three at the halftime buzzer made the score 28-27.

“I’m proud of how the guys battled back,” Hammons said. “Credit our defense for keeping the game close, even though we weren’t making shots in the beginning.”

The third quarter proved to be the difference as the Lancers outscored Wayne Trace 20-6. Less than a minute into the period, an offensive rebound, return shot and free throw by Adam Stoller gave the Raiders a 30-27 advantage. It would be the the final time Wayne Trace enjoyed a lead. Baskets by Kemler and Ringwald put the Lancers ahead 32-30, then Eli Sinn tied the game at 32.

Lincolnview countered with a 14-0 run, including three more treys by Bowersock, one by Overholt and a basket by Kemler. Eli Sinn ended a near six minute scoring drought for Wayne Trace by hitting a free throw with just 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

“We knew Wayne Trace was going to play zone, but we didn’t know if they were going to go to their 2-3 or 1-2-2,” Hammons said. “We stressed to the kids to just attack, draw guys to us and look to kick it out.”

“When we get rolling it gives a lot of guys confidence,” Hammons added. “Alek had a couple of easy looks from three point range, and he got got Caden and Chayten going.”

Bowersock finished the game with five treys and 16 points, while Overholt finished with 10 points. As a team, the Lancers hit 11 of 23 shots from three point range.

The Raiders trimmed the deficit to 50-38 early in the final period, but a quick trey by Overholt pushed Lincolnlview’s lead back to 15. From there, Ringwald scored eight of his game-high 20 points before both teams began to substitute freely.

Reid Miller led Wayne Trace with 12 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Nate Gerber chipped in with nine.

“We knew going in their team speed would cause us trouble,” Wayne Trace head coach Jim Linder said. “Our goal was to get a big lead, try to keep them in front of us and catch them on a night they weren’t shooting it real well, but it didn’t work out that way.”

The Raiders will host Miller City on Friday and will travel to Van Wert on Saturday. Lincolnview will play at Columbus Grove on Friday, then will host Fort Jennings on Saturday.

Scoring summary:

Lincolnview   6 22 20 19 – 67
Wayne Trace 14 13 6 16 – 49

Lincolnview: Caden Ringwald 5-8-20; Jorge Salinas 0-2-2; Ethan Kemler 3-1-3; Chayten Overholt 4-0-10; Alek Bowersock 5-1-16; Tristin Miller 3-0-7; Zane Miller 1-2-5

Wayne Trace: Eli Sinn 2-1-5; Reid Miller 3-5-12; Josh Kuhn 0-6-6; Nate Gerber 3-1-9; Trae Sinn 3-0-7; Josiah Linder 1-3-5; Adam Stoller 2-1-5

JV: Lincolnview 38-33