Lincoln suffers first D-III defeat

BRISTOL — The undefeated Lincoln boys basketball team simply didn’t have an answer for Mt. Hope’s Jalen Kopecky Tuesday night. The Husky scored a game-high 23 points to lead his team to a 64-59 Division III victory over the Lions.

Lincoln (6-2, 3-1 Division III) received a team-high 18 points and three 3-pointers from Brett Bessette and 14 points from Vincenzo Nassi, but the Lions simply never found a way to overcome a four-point halftime deficit.

“It was a see-saw battle, but it always seemed like we were down two points or three points; there was never any separation,” Lincoln coach Kent Crooks said. “It’s one of those games that hurts to lose, but you go into an opponent’s gym that’s a playoff team and you learn something. It’s such a fine line between winning and losing.”

The Lions are back in action tonight when Scituate comes to town.

LINCOLN (59) Declen Quinn 2 2-2 6, Tyler McNulty 1 1-2 3, Brett Bessette 6 3-5 18, Cody Anter 1 0-0 3, Marty Guaghan 1 0-0 2, Vincenzo Nassi 4 3-4 14, Josh Jhanz 4 3-4 11, Aaron DeSousa 1 0-0 2, total 20 12-18 59.

MT. HOPE (64) Cameron Santerre 1 2-4 5, Darious Costa 4 2-2 13, Jalen Kopecky 8 7-13 23, Jaden Siembab 2 0-0 4, Josh Soares 2 4-5 8, Nate Oulette 2 0-0 6, Xavier Costa 1 1-2 3, Mitchell. Huggins 1 0-0 2, totals 21 16-26 64.

3-pointers – L, Bessette 3, Nassi 3, Anter; MH, D. Costa 3, Oulette 2, Santerre.

Halftime – Mt. Hope, 34-30.