Lane shot so well against Lincoln Park on Thursday night, the Indians would have won the biggest prize at even the most rigged carnival.
The Indians went 10-for-18 from 3-point range (and 8-for-10 in the first half) and made 16 of 18 free throws to defeat visiting Lincoln Park 56-54.
Lane led the entire game and Lincoln Park didn’t get within three until the last second of the game.
With no centers listed on the roster, the small Lane team is based around shooting threes and slashing and kicking. They used high screens to set up drives to the basket. After the Lions collapsed on the dribbler, ball movement around the perimeter found open shooters.
“When you start hitting threes, the other team comes out on you,” senior forward Vance Rockford said. “That’s when you can blow by them, get to the lane and create for other people.”
The second half was different for Lane (7-10, 5-2 Red-North), as the long jumpers stopped falling. The Indians slowed the pace, stepped up the defense (Lincoln Park made only nine baskets after half) and sank free throws to seal the win.
Rockford was Lane’s top scorer with 20 points, and he made 9 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to stop any Lincoln Park run. He also scored all five Lane points in the third and finished with 11 rebounds on the night.
“He made big plays for us, we can always trust him,” Lane coach Nick LoGalbo said. “He’s played in our program every position. He’s been guarding the bigs and playing the point. He’s that intangible guy you just got to have on the floor.”
Diangelo Perry finished with 17 points and five rebounds for Lane. Simon Negash made three 3-pointers for all nine of his points.
Lincoln Park (6-6, 2-4) was led by junior Miles Curry’s game-high 21 points. The 6-4 guard scored in many ways – he drove for layups, got baskets in transition, hit three treys and even made a put-back.
“Miles Curry is one of the best juniors in the state of Illinois, point blank,” Lincoln Park coach Terry Mister said. “He’s played consistently well all year long, he’s one of our leaders. Tonight he couldn’t do enough to get us over the hump.”
Ibrahim Dosunmu had nine points and five rebounds for Lincoln Park. The Lions kept the game within a few baskets for the entirety of the second half, but Lane just wouldn’t miss from the line (11-for-12 in the final five minutes).
“I give Lane credit,” Mister said. “They got hot from the 3-point line, we could do nothing to slow it down tonight. All game long they missed two free throws. I think they could have beat anybody tonight.”
