Basketball Recap: Lincolnton Takes a Loss

Lincolnton has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They were one points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 85-84 heartbreaker at the hands of the Forestview Jaguars. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (65), the Wolves still had to take the loss.

Despite the loss, Lincolnton saw an underclassman step up: sophomore LJ Smith IV went 14 of 35 on his way to 43 points and seven boards. That was a full 51.2% of Lincolnton's points, marking the third time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tucker Robinette, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 16 points and six assists.

Wolves

Previous 2 Games

12/28/24 vs Forestview	84-85
12/27/24 vs North Lincoln	65-82

Even though they lost, Lincolnton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in four consecutive games.

Forestview had a senior duo take command as Alex Helton went 12 of 19 on his way to 31 points and seven rebounds and Quinton Rybczyk shot 5-for-7 from long range and almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Helton has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Semaj Hart, who put up 12 points and six rebounds.

Lincolnton's defeat dropped their record down to 8-3. As for Forestview, the victory got them back to even at 6-6.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Lincolnton will have a little extra prep time after the loss as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Bandys at 7:00 p.m. on January 7th. One thing working in Lincolnton's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season. Forestview will also get a bit of a break before their next contest: they'll face off against South Point at 7:30 p.m. on January 7th. South Point is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 68.8 points per game this season.