Wayne Trace cruises past Lincolnview

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

HAVILAND – Wayne Trace held Lincolnview scoreless in the second quarter and went on to defeat the visiting Lancers 55-42 on Saturday.

The Raiders improved to 4-1 with the victory, while Lincolnview fell to 3-2.

Already leading 15-8 after one quarter, Jace Vining drilled a triple, then Alex Reinhart hit consecutive baskets to increase Wayne Trace’s lead to 22-8. After a Lincolnview timeout, Vining scored three points on a bucket and free throw, then Nate Gerber’s two baskets rounded out the scoring in the period. Vining went on to finish with 14 points.

“You have to make shots, and we didn’t make shots,” Lincolnview head coach Brett Hammons said. “I’ve never gone a quarter not making a field goal but credit Wayne Trace. It’s something we need to learn from and get better at, but we need guys to step up and make plays in those situations.”

“We got some looks, but we settled too much instead of getting to the hoop. They got a lot of free throws in the first half because they were attacking and we settled. We did a better job of that in the second half. It’s unfortunate that we ended up losing, but I think we learned a lot from this game.”

The Raiders were able to hold Lincolnview’s leading scorer, Zane Miller, in check. The 6-3 senior was held scoreless until the fourth quarter, when he scored six points.

“Defensively I thought we did a really good job of recognizing who their scorers are and taking them out of their rhythm, taking them out of their sets and just causing just enough confusion so they couldn’t get comfortable,” Wayne Trace head coach Jim Linder said. “Offensively other than rushing a few shots, I thought we did a good job of moving the ball and finding the open guy.”

The Raiders also held a commanding 37-18 advantage on the boards.

Wayne Trace opened the game with a 10-0 run, with baskets by Gerber and Reid Miller, then treys by Vining and Gerber. Creed Jessee put the Lancers on the board with a three pointer at the 3:32 mark, then Ethan Kemler buried a deep three to make it a 10-6 game with 2:27 left in the quarter. The Raiders closed out the quarter with a 6-2 scoring run, with Gerber, Sinn and Mox Price supplying the points.

“Gerber shot it extremely well early on, but they got on him so we found different ways to score,” Linder said.

Both teams scored eight in a sluggish third quarter, but Lincolnview opened the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run, including back to back treys by Jessee and Collin Overholt to make it 39-25, but Gerber converted two foul shots and Reinhart quickly hit a basket to push the lead back out to 18. Reinhart finished with 10 points, including six in the fourth quarter, while Gerber and Miller each had 13, scoring seven of those points from the foul line in the final period.

Kyle Wallis led Lincolnview with nine points, and Jessee finished with eight.

“I was pleased with our effort,” Hammons said. “Our kids battled and never gave up, but there are things we need to fix.”

Wayne Trace will travel to Miller City on Friday then will host Van Wert on Saturday, while Lincolnview will entertain Columbus Grove on Friday then will play at Fort Jennings on Saturday.

Scoring summary

Wayne Trace 15 15 8 17 – 55
Lincolnview    8   0 8  26 – 42

Wayne Trace: Reid Miller 2-9-13; Nate Gerber 5-2-13; Josiah Linder 0-1-1; Jace Vining 5-1-14; Trae Sinn 0-1-1; Mox Price 0-2-2; Alex Reinhart 5-0-10

Lincolnview: Jorge Salinas 0-2-2; Logan Williams 1-0-2; Ethan Kemler 2-0-5; Alek Bowersock 2-0-5; Zane Miller 1-4-6; Collin Overholt 1-0-3; Kyle Wallis 2-4-9; Jake Bowersock 0-2-2; Creed Jessee 3-0-8

JV: Lincolnview 30 Wayne Trace 27