BOYS BASKETBALL: East Rallies in OT to Edge Northeast

LINCOLN–(KFOR Jan. 19)–After seeing their seven-point halftime lead erased in the third quarter, the Lincoln East boys basketball team managed to rally late in regulation and pickup a 71-64 overtime win against Lincoln Northeast on Friday night at the Ed Johnson Gym.

The Spartans (5-6) got a pair of double-digit scoring performances from 6-1 senior guard Quin Weatherholt and 6-2 senior guard Carter Mick, who helped East storm back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

After the Spartans led 28-21 at halftime, Northeast took charge and built up a 10-0 spurt out of the break as part of a 23-8 third quarter run.  Grant Fredericks scored seven of his team-high 16 points during the run that put Northeast ahead 44-36 entering the final period.  Defensively, the Rockets full-court trap defense began to wear down the Spartans, forcing eight turnovers.

Northeast (7-6) extended their lead to 49-38 with less than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter after 6-6 senior Kyan Lenhoff hit a three-pointer.  As East continued to close in, the Rockets managed to stay ahead after Mo Abdalla hit two free throws to give Northeast a 54-46 lead.  Over the next final four minutes of regulation, the Rockets went scoreless.

East then regrouped and started to gain momentum, rallying behind Mick’s eight points in the fourth quarter.  With 1:33 left in regulation, the Spartans tied the game at 54 on one-of-two free throws made by 6-4 senior Luke Lindquist.

Several missed chances by both teams in the final seconds led to overtime, where East outscored Northeast 17-10 in overtime.  Mick poured in nine points in the extra frame to help the Spartans seal the victory.

Weatherholt, meanwhile, was the spark on offense in the first half for East.  He scored 18 of his game-high 29 points in the first half, 12 of those came in the first quarter with the Spartans taking a 17-11 lead.

Northeast got 15 points from Abdalla in the loss.

Click the link below to hear the podcast of Friday night’s game.

Boys Basketball: Lincoln East at Lincoln Northeast 1-19-24