Shumway dumps slump, sparks Lincoln County boys to overtime win

Lincoln County’s Derek Shumway came into Saturday’s basketball game in a bit of a slump, according to his coach, Matt Cameron.

The 6-foot senior broke out in dramatic fashion against The Meadows with his late-game heroics.

Shumway made the game-tying jumper from the right elbow to send the game into overtime, then scored five of Lincoln County’s 11 points after regulation to help the Lynx rally for an 81-72 win over host The Meadows in a Division III Southern League game.

“We know Derek can finish,” Cameron said. “He’s a heck of a ballplayer. He’s been in a little slump, but he came through tonight. When he gets hot, you’ve got to watch out. He’ll go six, seven, eight in a row. We just kept feeding him the ball.”

Lincoln County, which trailed 69-63 with 40 seconds left, closed the quarter with a 7-1 run, starting with two free throws by Charlie Scott.

The Meadows then turned the ball over on its next two possessions, resulting in a free throw by Preston Robbins and a layup by McClain O’Connor with 12.3 seconds left to pull the Lynx to within 69-68.

After the Mustangs went 1-for-2 from the foul line, O’Connor drove the length of the floor before passing to Shumway for the tying basket as time expired.

“McClain was driving down, and he had a lot of pressure on him,” Shumway said. “So he saw me open, gave me the ball, set a screen and I just drove in and shot it. And it was able to go in. I didn’t really realize the moment of the game, or the shot at the time.”

Shumway, who finished with 17 points, started overtime with a long jumper, then connected on a 3-pointer a minute later for a 76-70 lead.

O’Connor shot 6-for-8 from the line in overtime for the Lynx (11-11, 10-3 Division III Southern), who outscored The Meadows 11-2 in overtime.

“It was the momentum of that last-second shot (in regulation),” Shumway said. “We just had the momentum and were able to shoot the ball well. It’s a great feeling. This just shows we’re one of the best teams in this league, too.”

Mike Wood made six 3-pointers and finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds for Lincoln County. O’Connor had 24 points, seven steals and four assists, and Robbins scored 13.

The Meadows’ Jake Epstein scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half, and Max Hisatake had 17 points and 19 rebounds. Ethan Fridman finished with 14 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals for the Mustangs (14-5, 10-2).

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.