DIVISION III BOYS: The Meadows builds big lead, holds off Lincoln County

The Meadows took advantage of missed shots, foul trouble to build a 19-point lead, then held on for a 58-55 win over Lincoln County in the Division III Southern League semifinals at Spring Valley on Friday.

The Mustangs (18-7) advance to the title game against Agassi Prep (23-0) at 4:15 p.m. Saturday. Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament.

“That is us, we really make things interesting,” The Meadows coach Gary Hannig said. “We turned the ball over way too many times in the third quarter and they (Lincoln County) kept fighting. No mistake about it, we beat a good club tonight.”

Lincoln County made just 6 of 26 shots (23.1 percent) in the first half, and trailed 38-19, just 90 seconds into the third quarter.

But the Lynx made things interesting, behind the play of McClain O’Connor. O’Connor, held to nine points in the first half, sparked his team’s comeback in the second half.

O’Connor scored the final six points of the third quarter for Lincoln County with a three-point play and a 3-pointer as the Lynx pulled to within 46-42.

Poor free-throw shooting by The Meadows kept Lincoln County close, and Derek Shumway’s 3-pointer cut the lead to 55-53 with 1:10 to play.

The Mustangs finally slammed the door thanks to free throws by Ethan Fridman and Jake Epstein.

The Meadows made just 5 of 13 foul shots (38.5 percent) in the final two minutes, and was 16 of 32 (50 percent) for the game.

“We had our chances, but they (Lincoln County) would not quit,” Hannig said. “But hey, losing five seniors, starting two sophomores and two juniors and we are still playing basketball — I will take it. We are really looking forward to Saturday.”

Epstein led the Mustangs (17-7) with 21 points. Asheesh Chorpa added 12 points and Max Hisatake 10 for The Meadows.

O’Connor had 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to spearhead the comeback. Shumway, who made just 1 of 8 attempts in the first half, finished with 14 points for Lincoln County (13-13).

Agassi Prep 87, Calvary Chapel 59 — Deishuan Booker scored 17 of his game-high 27 points in the second half as the Stars advanced to the state tournament for the fifth straight season.

The Stars ran their win streak to 42 games, and haven’t lost a game since Jan. 4, 2014.

Agassi Prep scored 50 points in the second half.

Dennis Walker added 13 points for Agassi Prep (23-0), which held the Lions to eight points in the third period. Chris Lancaster, who hit four of the Stars’ 11 3-pointers, chipped in with 12 points, and Akeemis Williams scored 11.

Matthew Harney led Calvary Chapel (11-11) with 26 points. Killian Diers was 9-for-11 from the free-throw line and added 17 points for the Lions.