2A BOYS: Walker stars, but Incline too steep for Lincoln County
RENO — Not even Dantley Walker could save Lincoln County on Saturday night.
The junior guard scored 41 points, but it wasn’t enough as Incline downed the Lynx 71-64 at Lawlor Events Center for the Class 2A state title.
Joshua Dykstra scored 19 points and Micha Corneil 18 for Incline (26-3), which won its first boys state championship since 1990 and the fourth in school history.
“They’re just a really solid team,” Lincoln County coach Mike Wood said. “They can all shoot; they can all handle. They did a great job.”
Walker scored 40 or more points for the second straight game, but after hitting seven 3-pointers while scoring 43 points in a semifinal win over Rite of Passage on Friday, Walker made just 2 of 14 3-point attempts.
Eric Rippetoe added 17 points for the Lynx (25-5), who fell behind 17-6 in the first quarter and never recovered.
Lincoln County cut its deficit to 23-22 when Walker dribbled behind his back to set up a step-back 3-pointer with 3:06 to go in the half.
But Corneil followed that with a 3-pointer, and the Highlanders led 31-28 at the half.
But Corneil followed that with a 3-pointer, and the Highlanders led 31-28 at the half.
It was the first of many rally-stopping shots by the Highlanders, who seemed to answer every big Lincoln County basket.
“I think we had our chances, but it seems like they always kept the lead around six or eight,” Wood said. “Every time we’d make a bucket, they’d make a bucket. We couldn’t get a stop.”
After a Walker bucket cut Incline’s lead to 40-34 with 4:46 to go in the third quarter, Corneil had a steal and a layup to push the lead back to eight.
Rippetoe hit a 3-pointer with 6:17 to play to make it 58-47, but Corneil answered again, hitting another 3-pointer to push the lead back to 14.
Walker set a tournament record with 84 points in two games despite usually facing multiple defenders. The previous Class 2A tournament record was 68, set by Virgin Valley’s Danny Brotherson in three games in 1995.
“Dantley’s got two or three guys on him every game,” Wood said. “He’s an incredible ballplayer. And he does that with two guys on him every night.”
