Lynx Finish Season: 28-7

The pressure to perform at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament was bad enough-especially considering the Lynx next loss was to be their last.

To combine that inherent pressure, with the pressure of a Velcro tight full court press was downright cruel.

The Titans of Community College of Beaver Creek (26-7) didn’t have any sympathy for the Lynx, however, forcing the Lynx into 29 turnovers in the process of ending Lincoln College’s season with a 61-55 victory Friday afternoon.  The Lynx finished the season with a record of 28-7.

“All my guys played hard. We took four or five charges out there,” said Lynx coach BJ McCullum. “We’ve got kind of a different team, in that I’ve got a lot of guys who were high school post players, and we try to build their skills and make them into more complete players.”

“They’re coming, and they are doing a real good job with it, but when you get against a team that can press like that, you see what happens to our turnover totals. (That is) no fault to these guys, they’ve made tremendous strides. As sophomores, they’ve won 56 games, two conference titles, two regional titles, and two trips to the National Tournament in two years. They had great careers at Lincoln College.”

Both teams were plagued by long stretches of ineffectiveness in the first half. In the final seven and a half minutes, both squads combined for just one basket each- four points combined. The Lynx trailed at halftime 24-19.

The struggles offensively could be seen in the shooting percentages of both teams, with LC shooting 26.1 percent, compared to 25 percent for CCBC.

“I think you saw two teams out there that were really good defensive teams,” said McCullum of the sputtering offenses. “I don’t think there were a whole lot of open shots available. I thought my guys played really good defense, and they played great defense.

“These are better teams (than we faced during the regular season). There’s a reason why they are here, they are very good basketball teams.”

It appeared the Lynx were on the right track to start the second half. Behind an offensive outburst from Brandon Alexander, the Lynx started the half on a 14-2 run to take a 26-33 lead with 14:08 to play, with 10 of the points in the run coming from Alexander.

But as quick as the Lynx put themselves in front, they allowed the Titans back into the game. The teams traded baskets and leads for the better part of ten minutes over a portion of the second half.

Alexander hit two free throws with 3:43 remaining to tie things up 50-50, but from that point, CCBC was able to hold on to a small lead. 

In the final minute, the Lynx had a chance. Trailing 58-56 with under a minute, LC used solid defense to force a tough three from Titan guard Larry Bryant as the shot clock expired. The shot caromed off the rim, and LC’s Kyle Jacobs had the rebound all to himself, but lost control of the ball out of bounds as he came down, giving the ball back to CCBC with 35.5 seconds left, with a full 35 second shot clock.

The Lynx were forced to foul, and the Titans Eric Ruffin hit a pair of free throws to make it a two possession game, all but ending the hopes of a Lynx victory and a final game on Saturday.

The Lynx were lead in scoring and rebounding by Alexander with 20 points and 9 boards, followed by 11 points from Jacobs, and 10 from Shawn Bridgewater.

Alexander’s performance was one the bright spots for McCullum.

“The biggest key (to the second half comeback) was Brandon Alexander,” the coach said. “Brandon brings a lot of energy. If anything today, I’m happy that people got to see the real Brandon Alexander (after a 2-10 performance in Wednesday’s loss against Phoenix College).”

CCBC was lead by Theron Colao with 14 points, followed by Jason Arrington with 12.

Although the season ended on a sour note with two losses in the National Tournament, McCullum had few regrets, and said he’ll remember his 2005-06 team fondly.

“These guys were great to coach, tremendous competitors. They’re winners,” said McCullum. “They got beat here by two really good teams. I’m proud of them. They’re a pleasure to coach.

“If I could start come back next year with the exact same team, I’d take it. I could coach thirty more years, and coach these guys every year, and I’ll take my chances every year depending on how we play in this tournament.”

And, according to the coach, the Lynx have an excellent shot at competing at the same high level next season.

“We’re losing five talented sophomores, but we’re on some good recruits,” said McCullum with a faintly sly grin. “Other people are on those guys too, and we have to see how that shakes out.

“Lincoln College before I got there developed a great basketball tradition. We’ve always been good, and hopefully we’ll get a good recruiting class and carry on with that.”

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