Tigers
Crowned 4A State Champions
By:
Ari Talton
(Dallas
Weekly Writer)
They were supposed to
lose this game to a team notorious for running up a score on opponents.
Fourteen losses made
them a true underdog throughout the course of their playoff run.
When they squandered
away a 15-point lead late in Saturday night’s championship game, the Silsbee
fans began to roar and “here we go” began to echo from the burgundy shirts in
the crowd.
But none of that
mattered.
The Lincoln Tigers had
resiliency on their side and never relinquished their lead. Even as momentum
wavered back and forth, the Tigers never wavered in their aggression.
“We were supposed to
lose this game by 30 points to lose yelled Lincoln sophomore Lamarsay Austin as
he was adorned with his medal.
For Coach Cedric
Patterson and his Lincoln team, the sweet taste of victory is all the more
gratifying knowing that it was never supposed to be. The Tigers finished the
regular season with 14 losses and entered state tournament competition with the
worst record.
But again, none of that
mattered.
“We just refused to
lose,” says Patterson. “We said in the locker room that it didn’t matter how
bad the game became - if there was time left on the clock we would fight.”
The Silsbee Tigers had a
regular season record of 30 – 5, earning most of their victories by sizable
margins. Their closest playoff victory this season was a 19-point win over
Lufkin Hudson.
Perhaps Silsbee’s level
of comfort with playing ahead was interrupted so severely by Lincoln that their
attempts to recover were just too daunting. After a swift start and the release
of jitters by both teams – the game really began to take shape. The
back-and-forth first half made for an interesting game. To close out the second
quarter, Lincoln scored three perimeter shots – two of those by senior, Adrian
Baker.
The first half ended
with Lincoln up 37 – 24. Less than three minutes into the second half, Lincoln
led Silsbee 50 – 33 and appeared to be poised to finish the task at hand.
There was a moment when the night became larger
than basketball. Midway through the third quarter, with Lincoln leading 52 –
39, Silsbee player Devon McCain would lay motionless for several minutes after
hitting his head on the hardwood. Lincoln athletic trainer Eric Dirk was the
first to respond to the player shortly before game officials and paramedics
would surround them.
“At that moment we were
all concerned for the young man and for his family,” said Patterson. “We
immediately gathered and prayed on his behalf.”
Although McCain’s
unfortunate head injury and departure from the game left both teams concerned,
the overall effort of both teams never ceased. In a post-game interview Silsbee
Head Coach Joe Sigler applauded both teams for continuing to play aggressively
to the end, in spite of the injury.
Lincoln ceased a late
3rd quarter lead of 15 and Silsbee cut it to six points. Seconds after the lead
was trimmed to six, sophomore Kennedy Milton put Lincoln back up by nine points
with a basket and a free throw conversion to end the third quarter.
The final quarter began
with a 63-54 Lincoln lead. While Silsbee continued to inch closer, they never
advanced to take the lead. With each basket or turnover Silsbee capitalized on,
Lincoln returned to the other end of the court the very next play with
aggressive moves toward the basket, resulting in either a score or a Silsbee
foul.
Quickness and team ball
allowed Lincoln to endure the very nerve-wracking final three minutes. Kortrijk
Miles, the Tigers’ 6’4” junior who has played virtually every position this
year, notched 28 points in the victory and was named the Most Valuable Player.
“The last few games
taught us how to fight through adversity,” said Milton. “It got tough for us at
the end, but we were able to fight through it and win.”
The Lincoln Tigers
celebrated into the San Antonio night with their coaches, their respective
families and the many supporters. This is the first title for the team since
the 2002 team won state with a 40-0 record.
“We’re so proud of our
guys,” says Lincoln Principal Chanel Veazy. “They definitely deserve this
moment.”
(Dallasweekly.com
March, 2016)
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