Lincoln’s Matt Hafen goes up for two of his 22 points against Calvary Chapel.
The Lincoln County High boys basketball team won a tightly contested game against league foe Calvary Chapel Jan. 8 in Panaca.
The game was tight throughout, with the Lynx pulling out the 71-67 win behind sophomore Matt Hafen’s 22-point, seven-rebound performance.
Lincoln took an early lead with a strong start by senior Noah Smith and sophomore Cody Zile. The Lions rallied at the beginning of the second quarter to take the lead. Then a 3-point barrage from Hafen, sophomore Kobe Kelley and senior Alex Vincent helped give the Lynx a 31-28 lead at halftime.
Calvary was only down two at the end of the third quarter, but sophomore Talon Phillips helped stem the Lions’ comeback with some timely buckets. As the game remained tight throughout the fourth quarter, Calvary got into foul trouble, and foul shots pushed the Lynx to a four-point win. The Lynx shot 14-for-21 from the free-throw line.
Hafen made six threes on the night, shooting a blistering 55 percent from beyond the arc. Vincent knocked in two of his own and Kelly made a three as well.
Smith finished with 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Lynx. Vincent had 13 points and eight rebounds. Zile had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The win gives the Lynx a 9-5 overall record, and the team is 4-1 in league play.
Lincoln will face Mountain View Christian (1-15, 0-5) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Las Vegas. The next day, the Lynx will play at Lake Mead (5-0, 2-1) in Henderson at 3 p.m.
