The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Varsity Rails stopped short by Hornets
Lincoln fought hard in overtime nail-biter
By Tom Perkins, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: March 6, 2008
They started 0-11, but they learned to play as a team.
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They began downing opponents no one imagined they could beat.
Lincoln held it together through all the adversity and played up to their potential for their remaining 11 games, which made their 68-66 district final overtime loss to Saline sting all the worse.
"People have been asking 'How does it feel?'" head coach Mike Foley said. "If they could imagine having the winning lottery ticket, putting in their pocket, going to the store to give it to the cashier, then reaching in their pocket and it's gone and they'll never have it again - that's how it feels."
The Hornets whittled away 36-23 Railsplitter halftime lead to tie the game at 52 with 2:50 remaining. Lincoln had been effective in shutting down Saline's Kyle Larsen in the first half, who led all scorers with 29 points,
"We executed our game plan," Foley said. "We knew Larsen was going to be tough so we were going to be on him one on one. For the past three weeks, Andrew Dillon has done a phenomenal job shutting down the best player against everyone we've played."
But Saline had other weapons. Tyler Bagbey (21 points) nailed five three pointers, including a crucial shot to cut the lead to two early in the fourth quarter.
"We never expected Bagbey to have such a great game," Foley said. "My hat goes off to him."
With seven seconds remaining and Lincoln up three, Larsen was at the free throw line and missed his second shot, but no Railsplitter boxed out Bagbey, who put the rebound in and sent the game to OT.
Larsen and Bagbey hit all of Saline's overtime buckets as Saline carried a five-point advantage with time running out. Lincoln put in a three pointer with under five seconds remaining to cut the lead to two, but time expired before they could get the ball back.
"We were one rebound away from a district championship - one rebound," Foley said.
Foley commended his team for sticking together through their early season woes, and is pleased much of the team will return next year.
"It has been a long season but a real good learning season," he said. "This is one of the best years I've ever had as a coach."
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