Campers Split

The Lynn Camp Wildcats advanced to the second-round of the 13th Region All “A” Classic Monday night with a 64-58 win over the homestanding Pineville Mountain Lions.
The Lions entered the game 5-11, however, Lynn Camp coach Anthony Pennington felt this team was much better than their record. “Pineville is a very good team,” Pennington said.
“I tried telling my kids not to overlook this team but they came in with a big confidence boost after beating Whitley County by 15 points,” said Pennington. Then we come in down here and I told them it would be a tough place to play. I don’t care what kind of team Pineville has this year, J. D. (Strange) is a great coach and I knew it was going to be a tough ballgame.”
Pennington was right on the money because the Lions gave his Wildcats a battle before Lynn Camp came up with some big defensive plays in the final minutes to pull out the victory.
With Lynn Camp clinging to a 57-56 lead with 1:52 left in the game, sophomore Nathan Tanner stole the ball and hit Chris Smith with an assist to put the Cats ahead 59-56. Senior Kevin Simmons stole the ball on Pineville’s next trip down the court and hit Smith in the lane for a basket.
Not even a time-out by Pineville would stop the defensive run as Chris Eggen stole the in-bounds play and hit a wide open Bray who laid it in for a 63-56 margin with less than a minute left in the contest.
“I thought our defense picked it up and got us out of that hole,” Pennington said.
Pineville came out ready to take on the Wildcats (11-5) in the opening quarter and jumped ahead of Lynn Camp 5-2.
The Wildcats caught the Lions at 6-6 on a Smith basket but a 9-0 run saw the host take a 15-6 lead with 2:27 Derek Rosenbalm went to the free throw line for three free throws after missing from long range.
Tanner pulled the Wildcats within four after hitting a three pointer from the corner, but a Jake Hampton basket saw Pineville take a 19-13 lead at the first stop.
That lead didn’t last long as Lynn Camp went on a 14-6 run and grabbed the lead on an Eggen steal that he converted into a basket. The Wildcats had tied the score on a three pointer (23-23) by Kyle French but Hampton put the Lions back on top prior to a pair of steals by Adam Bray and Eggen.
Hampton tied the game for the third time at 27-27 but a three pointer by Eggen and a pair of free throws by the junior guard saw the Wildcats take a 32-27 lead. Lynn Camp went on to take a 38-30 lead at the half.
Pineville closed the gap to three (44-41) midway through the third quarter on a three pointer by Dustin Warren, but a 7-0 run allowed Lynn Camp to push the lead back out to 10 points (51-41) on baskets by Smith, French and Tanner. Lynn Camp took a 52-44 lead into the final period.
Hampton and Blake Hensley cut the eight point margin to one before the Lynn Camp full court press took its toll on the Lions.
Tanner led the Wildcats with 16 points while teammates Smith and Eggen added 13 and 10 points respectively. Hampton led the Lions with a game high 21 points.
Pennington praised the play of Billy Mabe, Eric Hibbard and Kevin Simmons. “I thought they came off the bench and gave us a big defensive lift,” said Pennington.

Lynn Camp 13 25 14 12- 64
Pineville 19 11 14 14- 58
Lynn Camp (64) – Bray 8, Eggen 10, French 8, Tanner 16, Smith 13, Hibbard 5, Simmons 4.
Pineville (58) – Rosenbalm 7, Strange 9, Warren 12, Hensley 6, Hampton 21.