Lincolnton has played every game this season on their home court, but they'll have to hit the road on Friday. They will square off against the East Lincoln Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 15 to 5 on the offensive boards, a fact Lincolnton proved on Tuesday. They walked away with a 58-48 victory over Stuart W. Cramer.
Landen Lyerly and Junior "LJ" Smith were among the main playmakers for Lincolnton as the former dropped a triple-double on 15 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 blocks and the latter dropped a double-double on 29 points and 10 rebounds. That makes it two consecutive games in which Smith has scored at least 25% of Lincolnton's points. Khamoni Heath was another key contributor, scoring 6 points along with 5 rebounds.
Meanwhile, East Lincoln's and West Lincoln's matchup last Tuesday was close at halftime, but East Lincoln turned on the heat in the second half with 51 points. East Lincoln simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat West Lincoln 81-52 at home.
East Lincoln's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jackson Fannon, who scored 26 points along with 9 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Riley Shropshire, who scored 17 points along with 8 steals.
The opposite results left the teams with opposite records: Lincolnton's victory pushed their record up to 2-0, while Stuart W. Cramer's defeat dropped theirs down to 0-2.
Lincolnton came up short against East Lincoln when the teams last played back in December of 2022, falling 64-51. Can Lincolnton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
