 By that measure, the Lincoln College men's basketball team looked
fairly good in Friday night's 90-53 victory over the Millikin
University junior varsity at Jack Nutt Arena, played as part of the
Guzzardo's Classic.
The Lynx cruised to a 54-26 halftime lead, thanks to a 24-1 run
in the first 20 minutes.
Their lead was never threatened.
LC coach Pat Lepper was pleased to see his team put the game away
early by playing with good energy against an undermanned Millikin
squad.
"We're trying to preach consistency with our effort and focus.
Just because it was a junior varsity team, no one is taking any
plays off," said Lepper. "We tell our guys, 'You're going to spark
us,' 'You're going take off where the next guy leaves off,' and so
on. I think with fact that it was a junior varsity team really
doesn't matter. They come out wanting to win just as bad as anybody
else does."
The Lynx employed a balanced scoring attack against the Big Blue.
Julio Velandia came off the bench to lead LC in scoring with 13
points. Courtney Jones added 11 points, Chris Davis had 10 points,
while Henry Hicks and JoVaughn Gaines added nine points each. Aaron
Simpson, Sam James and Marzhon Bryant each had eight points. Davis
also led the Lynx with nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
Every player on the roster played significant minutes, and all
but two players scored in the contest. LC finished the game with 21
assists as a team.
"Tonight was a game where everybody had an opportunity to play
and everyone had an opportunity to play a significant amount of
minutes. That's what we wanted," said Lepper. "We wanted to share
the ball and score in transition, which gives a lot of people
opportunities to score."
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On several occasions, the Lynx were able to intercept
Millikin's passes with their speed to the ball. Those steals had
LC racing down the floor in transition, with the Big Blue
struggling to keep pace.
It was a similar pace to Wednesday night's 92-63 victory over
Black Hawk Community College at Jack Nutt Arena.
"We're trying to pressure the ball as much as we can," said
Lepper. "Maybe not jump on everything, but to be there when their
players catch it and, if there's an opportunity, make that play.
We're trying to get our defense to spark our transition."
Another key factor in Friday's win was LC's dominant rebounding.
The Lynx outrebounded Millikin by a final tally of 57-27.
"We've got some guys that we're really trying emphasize crashing
the glass," said Lepper. "I think they did a pretty good job of that
tonight."
The Lynx play again today, when they take on Southeastern
Illinois Community College at 1 p.m.
The game is a rematch of an earlier contest this season, when
Southeastern defeated LC by a final score of 69-66.
[By JUSTIN TIERNEY]
Lincoln College men's basketball
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