Bryant and Stratton (WI) – 59Lincoln Land – 57Lincoln Land lost a lead in the final two minutes and fall to Bryant and Stratton 59-57. The Bryant and Stratton Cougars came down from Wisconsin to take on the Loggers in the final game of the first semester for Lincoln Land. Both team came into the contest top 10 in the country in defensive points allowed, both allowing only mid 60’s to their opponents so the night expected to be a defense battle and early it definitely fit the bill. The Cougars came out the more aggressive team and their highest lead of the night (6) came very early as they led 8-2 out of the gate. Neither team got much leverage offensively as both teams were held under double digits in the first 10:00 of the evening. Each team only had one field goal for a 6:00 stretch until and exciting end to the half saw the Cougars hit a deep corner three with just seconds on the clock, but Lincoln Land’s Jermale Young banked in a three quarter court shot that took the game to half with Bryant and Stratton up 27-24. In the first half, although the Cougars never fully pulled away, Bryant and Stratton played ahead for much of the time. The second half was the opposite. LLCC stormed out and got their scoring a little more alive and took then lead just minutes after the break. Once in the lead, the Loggers controlled the lead most of that second half. Lincoln Land looked on their way to victory when they took a game high 6 point advantage with a little over 2:00 to play when they led 55-49. Unfortunately, those were the last points they would put in for the next 2:00. Bryant and Stratton’s top 10 defense got three stops and their offense knocked in back to back threes and then with the score tied got a bucket and the foul to go up by the final 2 points. A last ditched deep throw ended up in the rafters and the contest ended with the Loggers on the wrong side of the 59-57 score. This was definitely an example of stats providing some context that the Loggers stumbled to the loss as they pulled in more boards, attempted more shots from the field, and had a season high 16 assists, but Lincoln Land also committed 21 turnovers and shot worse from the field, and arguably the most impact, from three. Kyle Leonard led all scorers with 19 points and Camren Kincaid added in 14. Lincoln Land falls to 4-6 on the season l going into the winter break. Following the holidays, the Loggers will be back at home on Saturday, January 6.
