Dominic Williams drops 30 and drives #7 Lincoln past T.J.  (02/05/10)

by MARTY CESARIO

Friday night here on Federal. The gym is dim. The fans are jacked. Denver Prep League hoops happenin!' The home team, Lincoln, is currently ranked 7th in our latest CET Sports poll. Thomas Jefferson is ranked in the top three of any Class 4A list that matters. This... is... serious.  

Most of the kids played well. All of them played hard. Two of them excelled. T.J.'s Billy Sprague battled for 25 points, but it was Dominic Williams' 30 point showcase -- including 11 of his team's final 12 -- that shined brightest as the Lancers solved the Spartans, 70-66.   

Often when two squads loaded with quick and explosive athletes step on the floor, the intense defensive play defuses opportunities for a lot of offensive heroics. For quite a while, this was one of those nights. These kids moved like rabbits on Red Bull with hands that could snag hummingbirds out of the sky. It was not a good night to dribble excessively or pass laterally. Fans in the stands had little chance to rest their eyeballs as the flow of play changed direction rapidly and often because of the multiple steals and picks. And once the ball did get inside... people got hit. That physical part... no big whoop to Sprague. T.J.'s senior bruiser muscled his way through a good-sized Lincoln front-court to help his Spartans establish a five point lead in the opening period. Although senior Sean Williams' drive through traffic earned an advantage for his Lancers at 14-13, T.J. regained the lead just before the first quarter ended and jumped to a seven point spread midway through the low-scoring second period. In a rare surge of perimeter success, reserves Chris Carter and Miles McIntosh each hit three-pointers to put T.J. ahead 23-16. Later, Sprague intercepted a pass, travelled down the floor for a lay-up, and made sure his Spartans maintained a small cushion by halftime, 27-24.

Sprague scored 15 points in that first half. Lincoln tallied 24 -- from merely three players. Dominic Williams scored 10 of those points. Junior Corey Vasquez, a 6'5" guy who demostrated he can bang for scores from the post and hit a three-point shot when left open, accounted for another 10. Sean Williams had the other four. Coach Vince Valdez needed some other Lancers to produce in order to stay unbeaten in the DPL.

As they did in the previous two periods, the Spartans got off to the better start after the intermission. Senior guard Shane Oliver's short baseline jumper put T.J. up 33-26 at 5:30 in the third. Then Coach Valdez' adjustments started paying off. Junior shooter, Chris Abeyta, was pulled off the wings so he could attack the smaller T.J. guards and Dominic Williams, 6'4" with ball-handling skills, became a tough cover as a point guard on many Lincoln possessions. And with a little offensive help from Jose Zamora, the Lancers took over the lead again. On consecutive trips, Zamora, a junior guard, sank two free throws then scored on a backside cut with a sweet pass from Williams up top. Suddenly, Lincoln was ahead 44-41 with about two minutes left in the third quarter. T.J. sophomore, Nathan Brewer got three points -- the hard way -- to tie it before the period ended, but the Spartans would never lead or be tied the rest of the game.

In the first two minutes of the fourth, Abeyta dropped in a floater, got fouled, hit the free throw then stepped out to the corner to nail a three-ball and give Lincoln a six point lead at 52-46. Sean Williams gave Lincoln their biggest lead of the game, 56-49, with an agile shot in the lane as he faded left. T.J. did get back to within one or two a few  more times including a rare moment when they scored five points on a single possession as Oliver hit a three-pointer and senior Chris Carter earned two free throws due to a foul away from the ball. Carter sank both. The scoreboard read 58-56.

From there, it was all about 3-4 dropping 11 in the final 3:20. It was like somebody, perhaps Valdez, said, "Dominic, take us home, baby." And the dude responded -- both hands on the wheel, big foot hard on the pedal. Dominic drove for a bucket.. and one. Then charged inside for another lay-up. But T.J. hustled to within two again. Then  Dominic... inside for another basket. Oliver nailed a pair of free throws. Dominic with an offensive put-back. After Zach Jackson's three-pointer with under a minute to play made it a one-point game, it was a well-fit moment when Dominic Williams brought the ball to the other end of the floor with Sprague waiting for him. Nice... tonight's two stars in a final tango. And woosh! Dominic danced right around Billy for another bucket and a three point Lincoln lead with :26 left.

T.J. came back down but couldn't make the long ball. Lincoln senior, Shomari Rogers, sank one of two free throws. Game over. Shake hands.

So it's the Lancers that remain unscathed in the Denver Prep League! But there ain't no rest for the wicked, ya know? 4th-ranked Montbello comes to Lincoln High on Tuesday. Denver East will visit on the 19th in the regular season finale. Neither the Warriors nor the Angels have lost a league game, either.         
    
Coach Grant Laman and his Spartans gotta stay fresh, too. Their itinerary reads: East, George, and Montbello in seven days beginning this Tuesday in Rudy Carey's gym.       

  
Thomas Jefferson (15-4, 3-1)   14 13 17 22   66
Abraham Lincoln (15-4, 4-0)    15  9  20 26   70
 
TJS: Sprague 25, Oliver 11, Jackson 10
ALL: D. Williams 30, Vasquez 14, S. Williams 8, Abeyta 8 


Individual stats may be unofficial. Feedback via e-mail to: contactus@ispn.tv or martycesario@hotmail.com