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The Lynx held the visiting Chargers to 32 percent shooting for the
night, while shooting at a 51 percent clip themselves. The home team
won the turnover battle 24-15. The Lynx outrebounded Sandburg 43-36.
And, every player on the Lynx roster contributed at least two points
to the effort. "I thought defensively, our intensity was really a
key in this game tonight," said McCullum. "For the first 20 minutes
in the first half and the first five minutes in the second half, we
really got after it.
"I was disappointed with our overall defense after Friday's game,
so we talked about that a lot in practice and spent a little time on
it. It was good to see that pay off."
The Lynx literally led from start to finish, never trailing
Sandburg for all 40 minutes. LC jumped out to an early 10-3 lead. A
small Sandburg run would cut the margin to 12-10 at the 14-minute
mark, but a 9-0 run over the next three minutes gave the Lynx a
double-digit lead that would never fail them. The romp continued
over the final 10 minutes of the first half, with freshman guard
David Pickering sinking two free throws with 18 seconds left to give
the Lynx a 20-point halftime advantage, 51-31.
Any Charger comeback hopes were quickly dismissed by the Lynx and
sophomore forward Kevin Bridgewater early in the second half.
Bridgewater completed two 3-point plays on consecutive possessions,
contributing a total of eight points to Lincoln's 15-5 run to start
the second half. A basket from freshman guard PJ Keaton gave the
Lynx a 30-point lead with 14:10 remaining in the game.
Bridgewater finished the game with a team-high 18 points and
seven rebounds.
"I played more inside tonight," said Bridgewater. "I'm a little
more comfortable down there, because that's where I played last year
at Spoon River. It felt like old times.
[to top of second column in this article] |
 "My teammates just found me in good situations to score, and I
made good on them. It seemed like there were times where I'd turn
around and not have anyone around me to stop me."
Sophomore forward Kyle Jacob and freshman forward Rob Rabenau
also scored in double figures with 10 each.
The lone bright spot for Carl Sandburg came by way of former
Hartburg-Emden star Jason Garber. Garber finished with a game-high
19 points, which included three 3-point field goals in the loss.
It was a good day for the LC men's basketball program off the
court as well. The Lynx jumped from No. 7 to No. 3 in the NJCAA
Division II rankings Tuesday.
According to McCullum, his team still has some things to prove
for their coach to consider his team worthy of the lofty ranking.
But, they'll get their chance this weekend at the Southeastern Iowa
Classic in Burlington, Iowa.
"It doesn't really mean anything right now," said McCullum. "It's
a nice sign of respect, but I don't know if we've earned it yet.
"Now, this weekend, if we can beat both Southeast Iowa on their
home floor on Friday night and then come back and beat a team like
Kirkwood on a neutral floor on Saturday, I'll be very happy.
Kirkwood finished second last season in the national tournament.
They return all five of their starters, and they're ranked number
four in the same poll.
"If we win those two, then maybe we'll be playing like the
third-ranked team in the nation. Right now, we're just a 5-0 team,
and they've got to rank somebody."
[Lincoln College
news release by Justin Tierney] |
