Sports - January 2004

Golden Lions too much for Rebels

Shelby forces 22 turnovers in win

By MIKE POWELL, LTN Correspondent

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Shelby's "Scooter" Lawrence lived up to his nickname Friday night.

The senior guard was the quickest player on the floor in a Midwest 2A Conference game at West Lincoln, and he put his fast set of wheels to good use.

Lawrence scored a game-high 20 points and sparked a Golden Lions defense that forced 22 turnovers in a 67-54 win.

The Rebel ball handlers had no answer for Lawrence's quick hands and feet. West Lincoln made nine turnovers in the first quarter against Shelby's press, and the Lions converted four of them into layups.

Lawrence scored eight of his 20 points off steals as Shelby evened its conference record at 3-3 and overall mark at 7-7. West Lincoln fell to 7-9 overall, 2-4 in the Midwest 2A.

Lawrence was so dominant not even a scorekeeping error could slow him down.  He scored on a baseline drive midway through the first quarter to  give Shelby a 10-6 lead.

However, the basket was not recorded in the home scorebook, and despite Shelby coach Ken Napier's protest, the officials had no choice but to rule against Shelby.

The disallowed field goal only seemed to fire up the Golden Lions, who went on a 7-0 run to take charge of the game.

After the Rebels finally answered, Lawrence scored two baskets off steals in an 8-0 spurt that stretched the lead to 13 at 21-8.

West Lincoln never got closer than 11 after that. With Lawrence and Van Eskridge doing most of the damage, Shelby opened up a 21-point lead midway through the third period.

Time after time, Eskridge drove past West Lincoln defenders for high-percentage shots. He hit seven shots in a row, most of them layups, and finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Two plays in the third quarter summed up the game. The score was 45-29 when Lawrence hit a layup off the break and drew a foul. He hit the free throw, stole the inbounds pass and scored again to pull off a rare five-point play.

“Eskridge and Scooter Lawrence have been able to trigger our defense,” Napier said. “I think our foot speed was a little quicker than theirs tonight.”

West Lincoln coach Chad Wright echoed Napier’s sentiments.

“Their quickness is unmatched by anyone we have played. That bothered us a lot, of course. When you have quickness, you have the ability to finish around the basket. We needed to take care of the ball, and we didn’t,” Wright said.

All 15 players on the Shelby roster got into the game, which allowed the Rebels to trim the final margin to 13 points.

Ryan Huffman had 13 points to lead West Lincoln, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter. Freshman guard Taylor Woodie scored nine points in a reserve role and made 7 of 8 free-throw attempts.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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