February 09, 2012 @ 9:47 am
Phoenix Waters poured in 24 points to lead a trio of Rams in double figures as Wilson completed a perfect league season by defeating the Lincoln Abes 64-62 on Wednesday night in front of an overflow crowd. The Rams led from start to finish to hold off a late charge by the Abes for their 10th consecutive win and a 10-0 league record.
"They're playing with a lot of rhythm right now and we have a tremendous amount of chemistry," said Wilson head coach Dave Alwert of his Narrows 3A champs, who will have nine days off before beginning West Central District play on Friday Feb. 17 at Franklin Pierce High School. Lincoln will play Foss on Feb. 10 to determine the numbers two and three seeds to the WCD and both will begin play on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Franklin Pierce.
Both teams came out of the gate hot, as Waters scored 11 of his 24 on the night in the first quarter, with Wilson taking a 22-16 into the second. Tre'Shaun Lexing began to get the Abes back into the game in the second quarter, scoring seven of his game-high 25 points to keep Lincoln close at the half, trailing 33-27. Trailing 48-36 going into the fourth quarter, Lexing began to take matters into his own hand, scoring 10 points in the final stanza to cut the Rams' lead to five, at 56-51. But freshman Ivy Smith responded for Wilson with eight points of his own in the quarter to preserve the win for Rams.
"We definitely saved our best for last," said Alwert of his team's unblemished run through the Narrows 3A ranks. "Sometimes Ivy scares the daylights out of me but in the end he makes the plays when we need them."
With the aforementioned nine days to breathe, Alwert reflected on the just completed season. "Our toughness was established early by our seniors. Phoenix, Kevin, and Jaiden made sure the only thing the younger players cared about was not who scored but who got the open shot and making sure we won the game, regardless of the stats. I can't say enough about these kids." Lincoln will play Foss on Feb. 10 to determine the numbers two and three seeds to the WCD, and both will begin play on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Franklin Pierce.
By Steve Mullen
