Boys Basketball: L-W North Halts L-W Central Comeback Bid

The Skinny: Lincoln-Way North will enter Thursday's Medieval Classic championship game against Lincoln-Way East on a high note after defeating Lincoln-Way Central 53-47 on Wednesday. The Phoenix got excellent book-end performances from Daryle Morgan and Trevon Lewis. Morgan started the game for L-W North with 12 first-quarter points, and Lewis closed out the game with 13 second-half points. Morgan's big first quarter was huge in the Phoenix's 8-0 run early on. The Knights then went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 13 before the Phoenix began to dig in on the defensive end. The Knights would never have the lead, though they cut into the Phoenix's 13-point advantage late in the fourth quarter.

Patch MVP: Lincoln-Way North's Daryle Morgan had 12 of his 14 points in the first quarter. Morgan also had four rebounds and a block.

Key Stats: Both teams made 17-of-41 shots, but the difference came from the three-point arc. The Phoenix hit 7-of-18 from long range compared to the Knights going just 1-of-7. The Phoenix also forced 14 Knights' turnovers.

Lincoln-Way North Leaders: Apart from Morgan, Trevon Lewis also had 14 points and chipped in two steals. Cody Murphy had nine points, three rebounds, one block and one steal. Austin Olsen matched Morgan's total of four rebounds.

Lincoln-Way Central Leaders: Brad Foster had 21 points to lead all scorers. He also had game-high totals in rebounds (eight) and blocks (three). Johnny Finnin and Kevin Mampe had eight points and four rebounds apiece.

Quotable I: Lincoln-Way North coach John Terry: "We stress to our kids to play defense. When our kids buy into the fact that defense wins games, we play well. The kids played intense, strong and tough man-to-man defense the entire game." 

Quotable II: Lincoln-Way Central coach Bob Curran: "North had two kids that really hurt us. We had an uphill battle, but we spent so much energy trying to come back. I thought their phyisciality hurt us as well." 

Team Records: North improves to 5-10. Central falls to 5-9.

What's Next: Both teams are in action Thursday (Dec. 29) at Lincoln-Way East. Lincoln-Way North advances to the Medieval Classic boys championship game against the host Griffins. The game will start at 7:30 p.m. Lincoln-Way Central faces Shepard at 10:30 a.m.

Girls' Score: Lincoln-Way North 41, Lincoln-Way Central 29.