Photo by Tom Hawley/Monroe News

By DOUG DONNELLY

OTTAWA LAKE – Lincoln Joerin was the wild card in Erie Mason’s gamble Friday night.

The Eagles came into the game 0-2 and looking to knock of Whiteford. Coach Kevin Skaggs devised a defense to shut down the Bobcats two leading scorers Evan Parker and Josh Hill. When that worked, Joerin stepped up and scored 16 points to lift the Bobcats to a 46-34 win.

“That was the gamble,” Skaggs said. “We thought we could contain him a little bit, but he’s a really good ball player and very confident. He handles the ball, and he drives the lane really well. We were kind of banking that he wouldn’t, but you got to try. We don’t match up well with a lot of teams’ size or quickness wise, so we do what we can do.”

The Eagles jumped out to a 15-14 lead after the first quarter, a quarter where Joerin was on the bench most of the time in foul trouble. He opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer from deep in the corner of Whiteford’s new gym and scored on a driving layup to put the Bobcats in front 19-15.

The lead swelled to 23-16 by halftime and Whiteford never was threatened again.

“They had those guys tight, and the drives were just wide open,” said Joerin, a junior point guard. “That’s how good Evan and Hill are – that teams will try and take them away. Coach was telling me to take it.”

Mason did cut the lead to five points early in the third quarter, but Joerin again went back-to-back with buckets, including a 3-pointer, for a 10-point lead.

“He got a couple fouls early that hurt, but he definitely took charge,” Whiteford coach Nick Abalos said. “They really keyed in on Josh and Evan and it left Lincoln open. He put in so much work in the off-season. teams are going to have to focus on him, it’s that simple.”

Hunter DeBarr scored 10 points for 3-0 Whiteford.

“Hunter stepped up and gave us an all-around good game,” Abalos said.

Hill finished with 9 points and Parker 7.

Xavier Wise led Mason with 12 points, including two 3-pointers. The Eagles are work-in-progress, Skaggs said.

“This goes back to when I first started,” Skaggs said. “We’ve re-tooled everything. It’s different. We’ll adjust.”

Erie Mason 15 1 8 10 – 34

Whiteford 14 9 12 11 – 46

ERIE MASON: Herrera 2(1) 1-4 6, Ioacengleli 2 0-2 4, Wise 4(2) 2-4 12, Goodin 3 0-0 6, Crooks 3 0-0 6. Totals 14(3) 3-10 34.

WHITEFORD: L. Joerin 7(2) 0-1 16, Hill 2 5-6 9, Parker 3(1) 0-0 7, DeBarr 3(1) 3-4 10, Masserant 0 2-2 2, Stevens 1 0-0 2. Totals 16(4) 10-13 46.