Northeast knocks off Lincoln Prep 65-49

Dominique Lane has found a simple cure to Northeast’s second-half inconsistencies.

Take over the game.

Behind 12 third-quarter points from Lane, Northeast defeated Lincoln Prep 65-49 Friday night at the Interscholastic Fieldhouse.

“We came into this game, and I knew we needed to keep up the intensity,” said Lane, a senior who finished with a game-high 29 points. “I just wanted to put the team on my back in the second half and make sure we didn’t have any breakdowns.”

After jumping out to an 11-point halftime lead, Northeast kept Lincoln Prep at a distance for much of the second half. That was until Lincoln Prep’s Deron Lloyd made it a two-possession game when he hit his fourth three-pointer of the night and brought the Tigers back within 49-43.

With things starting to crumble for Northeast, 13-8, the Vikings turned to Lane. He calmly went down the floor and hit a jump shot on Northeast’s next possession.

“He’s our team leader,” Northeast coach Ron Robinson said. “You can see out there that he can calm the guys down when things start going wrong. He’s our go-to guy.”

In addition to the 25 points per game Lane is averaging in Interscholastic League play, he’s also averaging seven rebounds per game.

“He’s their guy,” Lincoln Prep coach Marshall Draper said. “He shoots well, he rebounds, he handles the ball well, he’s all over the court. I don’t see how he doesn’t get tired.”

One thing Draper didn’t mention was Lane’s ability to play defense. On Friday he held Lincoln Prep’s top scorer, Beaumont Beasley, to 10 points, half of his season’s average.

Lane’s defense is helping him garner interest from several Division I programs, including Colorado, Missouri State and Murray State.

For Lincoln Prep, 13-8, the problems began before the Tigers reached the court.

Draper said most of his team was suffering from colds or other ailments. A poor shooting night didn’t help things either.

“We didn’t make many of our shots,” Draper said. “We missed a lot of them and easy shots at that.”

Lloyd led Lincoln Prep with 14 points.

The win improved Northeast to 9-1 in the Interscholastic League, putting the Vikings in good shape for a conference title.

submitted by COLE YOUNG - 2008-02-02 00:23:02

Comments - leave comment