Jessee, Leeth lead Lancers to victory

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Lincolnview stepped on the gas early and stayed on it on the way to a 59-40 Northwest Conference win over visiting Delphos Jefferson on Friday.

The Lancers jumped out to an 8-0 lead two and a half minutes into the first quarter, with Collin Overholt draining a trey, Creed Jessee hitting a pair of baskets and Clayton Leeth converting a free throw. 

The Lancers (8-8, 4-1 NWC) later extended the lead to 17-4 on baskets by Leeth and Jake Bowersock and a pair of free throws by Jessee. 

“I think that start gave us the confidence for the rest of the night,” Lincolnview head coach Brett Hammons said. “I’m just pleased with the guys.”

“Right from the opening tip they got out on us and we didn’t really do anything we tried to execute in practice all week,” Delphos Jefferson head coach Jordan Jettinghoff said. “Give credit to Lincolnview, their transition offense really hurt us. We knew they were going to try to push it but for whatever reason we just couldn’t get matched up and they took it to us.”

Armed with a 19-10 lead to start the second quarter, the Lancers were raced out to a 33-14 advantage, with Leeth and Jessee accounting for nine points during the run. Jessee went on finish with a game high 18 points and six rebounds, while Leeth tallied 11 points, four rebounds and four steals.

“I thought the steals he had tonight along with the rebounds and deflections he had were big,” Hammons said of Leeth. “He’s the one who gave us a lot of energy to start the game and I’m extremely pleased with the way he played tonight.”

Any hopes of a Delphos Jefferson (8-8, 4-1 NWC) were squashed early in the third quarter, when Leeth converted a steal into a layup, then Jessee hit triple that gave the Lancers a 38-18 lead. By the end of the period, Lincolnview led 48-25, then upped it to 53-25 early in the fourth quarter. The remainder of the game was played with reserves. 

Lincolnview was 25-48 (52 percent) from the floor and 7-12 from the free throw line with 28 rebounds and 11 turnovers, while the Wildcats finished 14-38 (37 percent) from the field and 8-12 from the foul line with 18 rebounds and 14 turnovers. Trent Teman led Delphos Jefferson with 10 points, while Ian Wannemacher scored nine.

“Delphos Jefferson is a very good team at driving the basketball and our goal was to keep them out of the paint, and I thought we did a phenomenal job of that,” Hammons added. “We contested every shot and I thought we made things very difficult for them.”

“We did what we needed to do and I thought it was one of our best defensive efforts of the year,” the coach added. 

Lincolnview will play at Delphos St. John’s tonight and Hammons said the game will present a big challenge. 

“They have a heck of a coach in Coach (Aaron) Elwer and he’s going to have his guys ready, and we just need to be prepared,” Hammons said. “It’ll be another battle against a team that’s very physical and wants to attack.”

Scoring summary

Lincolnview  19 14  15  11 — 59

Jefferson       10   8     7  13 – 40

Lincolnview: Landon Price 1-0-2; Garrett Richardson 0-1-1; Clayton Leeth 5-1-11; Aaron Cavinder 0-2-2; Collin Overholt 3-0-7; Jonathan Overholt 0-1-1; Daegan Hatfield 4-0-8; Jake Bowersock 4-1-9; Creed Jessee 8-1-19

Delphos Jefferson: Colin Bailey 2-0-5; Trent Teman 2-6-10; Ian Wannemacher 4-0-9; Damon Wiltsie 1-0-2; Logan Herron 1-2-5; Hunter Mericle 1-0-2; Logan Gallmeier 1-0-3; Doug Long Jr. 2-0-4

JV: Lincolnview 50-28