Sports - January 2004

Rebels to square off with Wolves

By JOHN MARK BROOKS, Staff Writer

————————————

Lincolnton may be coming off winning the Peoples Bank Holiday Clash and their first win over the North Gaston Wildcats, but is head coach Bob Cowie worried about a mental letdown entering their Friday matchup against West Lincoln?

“I wouldn’t think we would have any mental letdown based on the fact that it’s West Lincoln. I don’t think that’s any concern at all,” he said.

The reason Cowie is not worried is the magnitude of the game in the players’ eyes whenever they meet. He believes his team will be up to the task against the surprising Rebels.

“It’s certainly a big rivalry. They’re always going to play extremely well at their place. We’re going to have to play well to win, but I think we’re going to be able to do that,” he said.

The Wolves’ efforts have been aided by sophomore guard Zack Gibson who recently was named to the People Bank Holiday Clash All-Tournament team.

“He’s been playing with a little bit more confidence. He’s not forcing shots, not turning the ball over and is just making smarter decisions for us right now,” Cowie said.

Cowie gave his assessment of the Rebels, who he’s seen play twice.

“They play extremely hard, they have some people that can shoot the ball and they’re certainly playing a lot better than in past years,” he said.

The Wolves have a two-game winning streak and would like nothing better than to continue that against their county rival.

“I think we’re starting to show more signs of the team that I thought we could be, but we’re certainly not there yet,” Cowie said.

A big part of the Wolves success has been the play of key role players. Kyle Snyder and Josh Keener do a lot of the little things that don’t show up in the boxscore. Cowie has been happy with both of their play.

“Josh is limited in some things he can do, but he can rebound and play good defense. Kyle is making some smarter decisions for us and is doing some good things for us off the bench,” he said.

Lincolnton, in Cowie’s eyes, has three pivotal Midwest 2A Conference games coming up. His opponents will be West Lincoln, Chase and Bandys.

“We’re trying to keep improving. The next three games are huge for us. If we have any aspirations of being conference champions we’ve got to win these next three,” he said.

Head coach Chad Wright is not concerned about his squad not being ready for Friday night’s contest against the Wolves either.

“We’ve prepared and I believe mentally we’ll be ready to play. One thing that I usually don’t have to worry about with this game is I believe these boys are gamers,” he said.

Wright has the Rebels program poised for success with West Lincoln being competitive in every game this season. He believes the foundation of success begins with the intricacies of the game.

“Every game comes down to fundamentals. Regardless of what the particular game plan is from game-to-game it comes down to the little things,” he said.

Does Wright believe he and his team have an advantage by hosting the Wolves?

“Well you know it’s definitely an advantage to play at home. Once the ball goes up in the air it comes down to what you can do with it,” he said.

To beat the Wolves the Rebels will need a big defensive effort from their guards to try to slow Eric and Darren Wilson

“You can’t expect to shut them down, but you do want to try to contain them a little bit. You definitely don’t want them to get into a rhythm because they are both good ball players,” Wright said.

Despite the Wilsons’ points Cowie would like to see them play better.

“They’re not playing as well collectively, right now, as they were playing at the end of last season. We need to get them back to that point,” he said.

Two players in particular have stuck out to Wright with their recent play.

“Chase Caldwell has really developed throughout the course of the season. He’s really starting to play under control and show some senior leadership. Gene Arp really has been playing well. It may not always show up in points, but he’s a playmaker,” he said.

The Wolves are 6-3 entering Friday’s game with the Rebels’ record being 6-5 on the year.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

Terms and Conditions