BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Division IV poll champ Lincolnview played with the sense of urgency befitting a senior-laden team.
St. Peter’s, meanwhile, let its youthfulness and inexperience show.
The Lancers bullied their way to a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game and stymied the Spartans’ second-half comeback bid in a 71-51 win in Friday’s regional championship game at Bowling Green State University’s Stroh Center.
“We were tentative. We looked hesitant with everything. We didn’t play with a lot of confidence,” St. Peter’s coach Joe Jakubick said. “We got punched in the mouth.
“I think they’re playing with all seniors. A lot of times seniors have maturity and I thought that was the key to the start of the game.”
In Command: Lincolnview (25-1) led 16-9 after the first quarter and pushed its advantage to 36-20 at the half. The Lancers were 14-for-23 from the field, connected on 6 of 7 free throws and outrebounded the Spartans (22-4) 18-5.
“The first half was probably the best half we’ve put together all season,” Lincolnview coach Brett Hammons said. “They picked the right time to do it.
“We haven’t had a good start in I can’t tell you how long. When we have the seniors we do and they were able to get out to that (7-0) run and give them confidence to start a basketball game I felt was huge for us.”
Not Without a Fight: St. Peter’s turned the table to start the second half, scoring seven unanswered points to start the third quarter. A Jared Jakubick 3-pointer with 3:55 to play in the period cut Lincolnview’s lead to 38-30.
“They punched us in the mouth to start the game and I punched (our guys) in the mouth at halftime,” Joe Jakubick said. “I told them, ‘We aren’t going down like this. We’re better than this.’ They started showing what we’re capable of, but you can’t wait.”
The Lancers took a 47-36 lead to the fourth quarter, before the Spartans made one final push. A pair of Jared Jakubick free throws cut Lincolnview’s lead to 52-45 with 5:09 to play, but the Lancers outscored the Spartans 16-5 the rest of the way.
Cleaning the Glass: Lincolnview dominated on the boards, outrebounding St. Peter’s 43-17.
“It’s extremely disappointing,” Joe Jakubick said of the rebounding disparity. “We didn’t get a body on people.”
Balance: Lincolnview used a rotation of six seniors and each of them scored at least six points. Hayden Ludwig led the way with 18 points. Derek Youtsey had 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Chandler Adams added 10 points and eight boards.
Jared Jakubick scored a game-high 20 points for the Spartans. Mason Campbell added 13.
Learning Experience: St. Peter’s started two seniors, a junior and two sophomores and used a pair of underclassmen off the bench.
What did the young Spartans take away from Friday’s loss?
“To always go into every game strong and never regret anything,” junior point guard Tyson Kent said. “No more regrets.”
Jared Jakubick agreed.
“You can’t come out playing soft like we were. We’ve got to be more physical. We’ve got to come out with better energy,” Jared Jakubick said. “They punched us in the mouth from the get-go and we didn’t punch back.”
Joe Jakubick things the lessons learned Friday will serve the program well in the future.
“I might be wrong, I’ve been wrong many times, but I feel that what we went through tonight will benefit our team down the road,” Joe Jakubick said. “Only time will tell.”
