Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Wolpack Attacks Back-Pedaling Pirates
LINCOLN — Senior guard Bryce Means came out smooth as silk, looking for his shot and delivering 25 points to stake the Wolves to a conference win, 72-51, over Greenland Friday.
Means took pass out of the post from Harrison Swayne, then drove the lane, converting an old-fashioned 3- point play 23 seconds into the game. He never cooled off, notching 13 points in the first quarter. His second bucket was also courtesy of Swayne, who threaded a cross-court pass. Means drove from the right wing and finished off the glass for a 7-4 Lincoln lead.
After Greenland cut the lead to 10-8 on Will Overton’s put-back, Means swished a trey from the right wing and later scored a pull-up jumper after receiving a long outlet pass from Troy Sugg, who cleared a defensive rebound. This was the type of play Lincoln utilized to keep Greenland on their heels all night.
“He was definitely feeling it to start the game,” said Lincoln coach Tim Rich. “He was extremely hot. It’s one of those times you just let him shoot. As a whole, as a team, it was one of our better shooting nights. Our spacing on offense was well tonight. It helped us get some good open looks. There was far less dribbling. When we did dribble, it was going to the hole.”
Troy Sugg was a beast on the boards and he consistently found outlets to kickstart fast- break opportunities. He started an 8-0 Wolf run with such a play that was completed by Swayne running the floor for a layup at the other end. Means stopped and popped an 18-feet jumper from the right corner, then Swayne capped the run by driving to the hoop and powering in a shot as the Wolves doubled the score, leading Greenland, 34-17, with 3:18 to go in the first half.
There were other contributors. Caleb Hale scored twice on the offensive glass in the last 23 seconds, including a buzzer-beater created by Brent Crews’ drive. The Wolves led large, 46-27, at halftime and they put the game out of reach in the third quarter. Lincoln scored three times in less than a minute, getting Troy Sugg’s layup on a dish from Means, Crews’ fast- break layup on the run and another Means’ jump- shot to open up a 54-29 advantage. Their biggest lead was 27 points, at 60-33, when Means took a rebound coast- to- coast. The Wolves held a 62- 37 lead going into the fourth period and the outcome was never in doubt.
Will Overton led Greenland with 15 points.