Sports - November 2003

Rebels edge out the Mustangs

By JOHN MARK BROOKS, Staff Writer

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It was a classic county rivalry game between the East Lincoln Mustangs and the West Lincoln Rebels.

 The gym was filled with cheers, both coaches working tirelessly on the sideline and clutch performances by players for both teams.

 When all was said and done the Mustangs lost 59-57.

Rebels’ head coach Chad Wright is happy with his team’s unblemished record, but said there are improvements to be made.

“It’s what you want, but at the same time we really have a lot to work on. There are a lot of areas that we can improve upon. 3-0 is important, but getting that fourth win is even more important,” he said.

After a highly competitive half West held a 35-27 advantage over the home team. T.J. Smith led his team with eight points while teammate Darin Dellinger had seven at the break. Taylor Woodie and Ty Curtis paced the Rebels with eight each.

At the end of the third quarter the Rebels clung to a 49-42 lead.

 Entering the fourth quarter the stage was set and Ty Curtis and T.J. Smith were ready for the spotlight. Curtis netted six points in final act while Smith was an assassin from long range knocking down three three-pointers.

The free throw line was an unfriendly place for the Rebels in the final stanza when they made only one of eight attempts.

“Shooting that bad from the free throw line in the fourth quarter really opened the door. T.J. Smith stepped through it,” Wright said.

Smith actually knocked the door down. With less than four minutes in the game he knocked down three three-pointers to give the Mustangs a one-point lead.

B.J. Holland was quick to answer, knocking down his second three-pointer of the night and giving the Rebels a one point lead. With the score deadlocked 57-57, Wright called a time out.

“With 27 seconds left I took a time out and coach John Henderson, my assistant, encouraged me to stick with the play we had drawn up earlier and that was a double screen for Curtis,” Wright said.

The play worked perfectly as Curtis caught the ball on the block. With Mustang defenders draped all over him he hit a lay up to put West up by two points. The Mustangs were able to muster three shots, but none hit.

Wright was happy for his post player and said that a name change might be in his future.

“Ty sort of took it to another level on both ends of the floor. If he continues to play like that I’m not going to call him Ty — I am going to call him Mr. Curtis,” he said.

Leading East Lincoln, Smith ended the game with 20 points, including five three pointers. He is on the verge of becoming the career leader of three pointers made at East Lincoln. Teammate Dellinger was a nice compliment scoring 14 of his own. Carlos Marquez chipped in with eight points.

For the Rebels, Curtis ended the contest with 16. Chase Caldwell had 10 and Huffman scored nine, courtesy of three three-pointers.

The coach feels the biggest reason for the victory was teamwork.

“We went back to team basketball tonight on both ends of the floor. I think we are learning our lesson on the way and it just reinforces the importance of team,” Wright said.

The game, regardless of allegiance, was good for the fans.

“It was like a game that you see in the playoffs where neither team has any quit in them and they just battle back and forth all night long,” Wright said.

The two teams meet again at West Lincoln next Tuesday night and Wright knows his team will have their hands full.

“After the way they battled tonight we know what we’re in for Tuesday night. We can not become complacent at all or they will definitely take advantage of it,” he said.

The Mustangs fall to 1-1 on the young season.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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