Wilson High clinched the Narrows League 3A boys basketball title last week.
That didn’t stop the fourth-ranked Rams from cutting down the nets Wednesday night after holding off Lincoln, 64-62.
Wilson had something else to celebrate – an undefeated league championship.
“We wanted to go out and get that, be undefeated in league,” senior Kevin Johnson said. “This is huge for Wilson.”
Wilson (10-0 league, 18-2 overall) will play in the West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament. The Rams will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Franklin Pierce High in a winner-to-state contest.
Lincoln (6-4, 15-6) also qualified for the bi-district tournament, but the Abes must play Foss (6-4, 14-5) in a tiebreaker game Friday at Mount Tahoma to determine the league’s second and third seeds to the tournament.
Rams coach Dave Alwert marveled at his team’s chemistry, discipline and defensive toughness – three keys to the perfect league record.
“They exceeded expectations by far,” Alwert said. “I knew we had good character kids that played hard and we’d be pretty good. This is incredible.”
Wilson surged to an 11-2 lead four minutes into the game, and Lincoln got no closer than six points before halftime.
The Rams led the entire second half, too. The Abes cut the margin to five points three times, but the only time in the second half when they trailed by two was when Tre’Shaun Lexing’s uncontested 3-pointer dropped through the hoop as time expired.
Guard Phoenix Waters powered Wilson with 24 points. Forward Jaiden Martin added 13, guard Daviyonta Booth chipped in 10, and freshman guard Ivy Smith Jr. scored all nine of his points in the second half.
Wilson had a 51-40 lead when it suffered a blow, losing Martin to an injury. Alwert said Martin’s knee was possibly hyperextended. He left with six minutes remaining, and Lincoln made a run at the Rams in his absence.
But each time the Abes got close, Wilson came up with a big shot or stop.
After Lexing hit a pair of free throws that cut Lincoln’s deficit to 56-51 with three minutes to play, the 5-foot-3 Smith drove the lane and lofted a floater that went in to give Wilson a boost.
By the time Lincoln’s Armond Davis buried a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the deficit to 63-59, it was too late with six seconds remaining.
Waters added a free throw that gave Wilson an insurmountable five-point lead with a couple seconds left.
Lexing led Lincoln with 24 points. Davis finished with 13, and Isaac Barsh had 10.
Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271 doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/preps Twitter: @DougPaceyTNT
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