Lincoln's Derek Holiday Catches Fire in Fourth Quarter to Help Beat Lakes 62-49

When Lincoln's Derek Holiday touched the ball against Lakes Thursday night in the fourth quarter, there was a strong chance it was going in the hoop.

The junior guard scored the last 15 of 19 points as the No. 4-ranked Abes beat the No. 7-ranked Lancers 62-49 in The Tournament of Champions Holiday Classic 3A tournament Thursday night at Franklin High School in Seattle.

"I had to pick my teammates up," Holiday told Patch after the game. "We didn't come out to play (in the first half). I was trying to be a leader."

The Abes (8-1) converted more 3s than made field goals in the first half. The Lancers (3-5) led 21-11 with 6 minutes, 56 seconds in the second quarter behind 6-foot 9-inch Zach Banner and point guard Andrew Holloway.

But Lincoln sank four 3s to close the second quarter and finished the half on a 9-0 run that included a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Holiday for a 29-27 lead. Abes head coach Aubrey Shelton said hearing his name repeatedly over the intercom was fitting considering it's the winter holiday break.

"It’s fitting we got Christmas break now," Shelton said. That's a great memory for him and for our team."

Holiday finished by netting five 3s in the contest. The Abes converted 11 of 18 compared to the Lakes' 2-for-16 lackluster performance from beyond the perimeter.

Lakes head coach Jojo Rodriguez said they had some success early on but Lincoln made a lot of big shots in the end. Banner finished with a team-high 17 points but the team struggled to find a consistent other scorer in the second half, Rodriguez said.

"We couldn't do anything down the stretch," Rodriguez said. "They pulled away and it got away from us."