Mineral Area College – 73
Lincoln Land – 51
Lincoln Land started a four game road trip by traveling to Park Hills, Mo to take on the Cardinals of Mineral Area College. Mineral Area came into the contest 16-0 and ranked #7 NJCAA Division 1 rankings and showed why they’ve been so successful pulling away handing the Loggers a 73-51 loss.
The Loggers came into the contest as the 6th best defensive points per game team in NJCAA Division 2 and showed why early. Although the Loggers struggled to score they held the Cardinals scoring down as well and stayed close within less than 10 for much of the half. The last 4:00 saw Mineral Area start to pull away getting up to eventually the 13 they led by at half at 32-19.
Mineral Area came out of the break in much the way they finished and raced out to a 16 point lead. Lincoln Land was able to settle back in, but never were able to get closer than 11. For much of the second half the game was played with the Loggers trailing by between 11 and 16.
Everytime the Loggers got closer, the Cardinals would get back to back buckets to push their advantage back out. It was not until right at 2:00 to play that Mineral Area pushed their lead to 20+.
Although the final ended at 22, that score was not fully representative of the contest as the Loggers held Mineral Area to many season lows in the first half. Mineral Area, however, also dominated the statistics on the afternoon by specifically in rebounding and forcing more turnovers. Two possessions during the game saw Mineral Area pull down 3 offensive rebounds, both of which ended in eventual scores for the Cardinals. The Loggers also committed 16 turnovers compared to just 7 for Mineral Area. Although the Loggers shot a better percentage (38.5% to 37.7%) the loss of extra possessions meant they took 17 less shots and 15 less free throws. Cameron Kincaid was the only Logger to get to double digits leading the team with 19. Kyle Leonard and Jermontre Young each ended with 8.
Lincoln Land falls to 6-7 on the season due to the loss. They stay on the road next as they head out to Lewis and Clark Community College on Wednesday evening.
