By Jacob Vanderford |SPORTS|
The Links Varsity Boys Basketball Team got their first victory this past Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017 against the Papillion-LaVista South Titans, winning 63-48 away from their home court.
The Links got their first win of the season, hopefully propelling them towards a string of wins, putting them in contention for a District Title and possibly State. Their first step was against the Titans, who had lost in a closely margined defeat against a up and coming Kearney team who is now 2-0.
Lincoln High had lost the previous week to the Thunderbirds of Bellevue West 69-56, knowing that it was not their best game they could have played. They had a different, more confident mentality coming into their next game, letting their nerves disappear in the previous game and coming out blazing against the Titans.
The Lincoln High Varsity team got off to a fast start in the first quarter, taking a double digit lead over their opponent. They were up 16-7 before the Titans clawed their way back into the game, going on a 7-0 run, cutting the deficit to one. They then took a 19-18 lead towards the end of the 2nd quarter. The Links definitely had enough of that, and took back the lead and never let go of it. The Links got off to a double digit lead, taking it all the way to the end of the game and winning by 15 points.
The Links led the Titans in every category except for 3 point shooting percentage in which they shot 25% and we shot 8% not eye popping in the least. However, the sons of the black and red had a sharing mentality that game, finishing the game with 15 assists and the Titans finished with a whopping 0. The Links also were terrific in the turnover battle, having 14 steals to Papillion’s 8.
The Links also won in the shooting percentage category, hitting 53% of their shots on the floor compared to the Titans’ 34%, as well as defeating their opponent in the free throw category, making 71% rather than a 56% mark posted by Papillion LaVista South. All of these statistical category helped the Links lead the charge past their opponent, assisting them in gaining their first victory of the season.
