The Lincolnton Wolves have been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 64-58 hit to the loss column at the hands of Newton-Conover. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Despite the defeat, Lincolnton had strong showings from Landen Lyerly, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 17 rebounds, and Tyler Mcclain, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Lyerly has been hot recently, having posted 11 or more rebounds the last seven times he's played. Another player making a difference was Andrew Phelps, who scored seven points.
Even though they lost, Lincolnton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Newton-Conover only pulled down seven offensive rebounds.
Leading Newton-Conover to victory were Zyon Chambers and Javier Lineberger. Chambers scored 15 points along with eight rebounds and three blocks, while Lineberger scored 20 points along with five assists and five rebounds. Lineberger is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 17 or more in the last nine games he's played. Owen Cannon was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Lincolnton's loss dropped their record down to 15-4. As for Newton-Conover, the victory was the ninth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 14-5.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Lincolnton will take on Bandys at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Lincolnton's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season. As for Newton-Conover, they will be playing in front of their home fans against East Burke at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. Newton-Conover is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 63.5 points per game this season.
