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Lincoln Bees state championsFrom page 1Ato win, though.”With the Smiths shackled for most of the game, Mansfield's outside personnel was a combined 3-of-17 from the floor. No one else contributed more than four points.“We felt we could force them (the Tigers) to take something outside,” said Gamble “I read in the newspaper that they were a very unselfish group, so we knew they would go inside We’ve been a good defensive unit all year long.”Mansfield, which finished the season at 31-2, expected Lincoln to do likewise. Allen, Valsin and Haliburton tallied 41 points in tne Bees’ 71-59 semifinal triumph over New Braunfels.Mansfield's collapsing zone defense held Allen, the Bees’ all-state center, to seven points. Typically, Allen’s teammates took up the slack.Point guard Jeffrey Lewis led Lincoln with 12 points, including five free throws in the final 2:37. Wing Keith Hall, the Bees’ second-leading scorer this season.chipped in 10, as did reserve forward Donald Adams.Four other Bumblebees also contributed on offense, making it impossible for Mansfield to halt the Lincoln steamroller.“Our philosophy is that if you take our inside game away, you’ll have to use more than one player to do it.” said Gamble. “When Mansfield did that, we went to something else and it worked.” What Gamble successfully went to was the spread offense. Lincoln was nursing a 21-16 lead with 3:48 remaining in the first half when Gamble shifted gears.The Bees managed to kill more than three minutes of the clock before James Payne scored on a layup that gave them a 23-16 halftime cushion.“I know the fans don't like it, but we didn’t go to the spread just to hold the ball,” said Gamble. “We had a couple of our big kids in foul trouble ( Allen had two and Haliburton three) and we wanted to spread out Mansfield’s defense.”Lincoln finally succeeded in doing that the second half. With Mansfield's backcourt unable to rattle Lewis, Hall and Adams into turnovers, the Bees reeled off apair of six-point streaks for a 37-23 cushion after three quarters. Two free throws by Adams gave Lincoln its biggest lead, 42-25, with 4:50 remaining in the game.“Discipline is the biggest thing about our win,” said Gamble. To win the big games you have to be disciplined and do some smart things out there. Our kids never cracked.”Lincoln committed 11 turnovers. Mansfield made 14 miscues. which the Bees converted into 18 points“When Lincoln went into the stall game, we felt good aboutthat,’’ said Shropshire. “That gave our big people a chance torest. I thought we were quick enough in the backcourt to cause them a problem, but couldn’t disrupt their guards — especially Lewis.”The Tigers, with Hiley Smith scoring 11 the final 4:39, got as close as 47-37. But the Bees made 11 of 14 free throws down the stretch to clinch the championshipFor Gamble, it was his 586th career victory against 205 defeats in 24 seasons at Lincoln. It also means he can study for his competency test.“I tried to study,” he said. “But I had a state championship to worry about. I'll take that title over that test every time.”House damaged by blazeA house at 2648 Thomas Boule---vard was damaged by fire and smoke Saturday afternoon after rags apparently were ignited after being placed too near a water heater.No one was in the home at the time of the fire in a backroom of the wood frame home owned and occupied by Lawrence Spradley. according to Battalion ChiefPolice beatHarvev LaGrappeBurglary reportsSaturday• 5901 Jade Ave , peppermint candy was reported stolen from a cburch.
Newspaper Details
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur, Texas, US
Sun, Mar 09, 1986
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Joshua M.
NA, 04 Aug 2023
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