The Lincoln High Links pushed their score all the way to 57 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 70-57 defeat to Lincoln North Star. Even though they lost, Lincoln High's still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 50.6 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).
Despite the defeat, Lincoln High saw an underclassman step up: Brady Nick scored 20 points. That's the first time this season that Nick scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Aj Graham, who scored 14 points.
Lincoln High struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Lincoln North Star pulled down 14 offensive rebounds.
Lincoln North Star's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but KG Gatwech led the charge by dropping a double-double on 18 points and 16 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Gatwech has scored all season. Lazerek Houston was another key contributor, scoring 21 points along with three steals.
Lincoln High has fallen quite a ways from their 17-8 record last season and are now at 2-7. As for Lincoln North Star, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Lincoln High will head out on the road to face off against Lincoln Southwest at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday. As for Lincoln North Star, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Gretna on Saturday. Gretna presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Lincoln North Star in Nebraska (Gretna is ranked 29th, while Lincoln North Star is ranked 116th).
