HAMLIN — Lincoln County earned a key sectional win against Wayne on Tuesday, Jan. 17 inside the Panther Pavilion as they topped the Pioneers by a final of 53-51.
Senior forward Sawyer Tomblin had a big game in leading the Panthers to the win as he finished with a double-double, scoring a game-high 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Junior point guard Cam Blevins followed Tomblin with 14 points of his own as the duo put the team on their backs and carried them to the win in the second half.
“We lean on them,” coach Rodney Plumley said of Tomblin and Blevins. “Sawyer was real tough. He can score and plays bigger than what he is on the inside. Both of them just kept getting key baskets are key time of the ballgame.”
Wayne came out cold to start off the game and Lincoln County capitalized, racing out to a 13-6 lead after the first quarter of play. The Pioneers found their groove in the second stanza and pulled the Panther lead down to three at 27-24 going into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Lincoln County was able to add to their lead, outpacing Wayne 14-10 in the third quarter, thanks in part to eight points from Tomblin, and taking a 41-34 lead into the fourth.
Wayne made a final push in the fourth quarter to make the game close down the stretch, but Tomblin and Blevins combined to score all 12 points in the final period for Lincoln County as it held on for a two-point win.
Junior guard Aydin Shaffer narrowly missed double figures, scoring eight points for the Panthers, while fellow junior Austin Adkins tossed in four points and snagged nine boards, four of them coming on the offensive end.
Sophomore Cooper Adkins led Wayne with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Isaac Meddings followed him with 13 points.
“Wayne is a talented basketball team, and they are only going to get better,” Plumley said. “That Meddings kid is a phenomenal shooting guard and the other two guards have got a lot of experience. I think we are two evenly matched teams.”
Lincoln County improved to 4-6, while Wayne fell to 5-6.
WHS 6 18 10 17 — 51
LCHS 13 14 14 12 — 53
W: C. Adkins 17, I. Meddings 13, Z. Adkins 6, P. Marcum 5, D. May 5, R. Staley 5.
LC: S. Tomblin 21, C. Blevins 14, A. Shaffer 8, A. Adkins 4, W. Graham 2, E. Edwards 2, D. Wood 2, L. Johaim 0, W. Shepherd 0.
HD Media reporter Jarrid McCormick covers sports in Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.
