Ryan Wilson, Editor
SPRINGFIELD — There were 5 seconds left, and Peter Odia stood at the left corner of the 3-point line. He was wide open.
He then bent his legs, jumped and took the shot. Odia hit the left side of the rim, but the ball bounced right back to him. He jumped and made the shot with the buzzer sounding.
“When he hit the shot, my heart just dropped,” said Lincoln Land guard Justin Thomas.
Odia handed Lincoln Land its 10th conference loss of the season. Odia and John Wood Community College won, 63-61, in Cass Gym on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015.
“It (the game) was rough,” said Thomas, who finished the game with 13 points.
The Loggers were down 31-41 with 13:46 left in the game. They then went on a 20-12 run; they shot 40.8 percent from the court; and had only two turnovers in the second half (compared to 14 in the first half). But they never took the lead.
John Wood shot 45.4 percent in the same half.
“This (loss) stung,” said LLCC head coach Chad Jones. “We have been so close all year, and today was a small version of that.”
This is the 10th time this season in which Lincoln Land has lost by 10 or fewer points.
Eddie Longmeyer was the leading scorer for Loggers with 14 points. Edin Mehmodovic also had 10 points and 9 rebounds.
The John Wood Blazer sophomore guards Brody Gronewold and Paxton Harmon finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Harmon had seven rebounds.
Point guard Jordan Johnson had a game-high nine assists for the Blazers. This is the fourth time in the season in which he has had nine or more assists in a game.
This was the last game of the season for Lincoln Land and John Wood.
LLCC’s record is now 14-16. The team finished last in the Midwest Athletic Conference, after finishing 0-10 in conference games.
The Blazers season ended with a 19-11 record and 6-2 in conference play. They are in first place in the MWAC.
Ryan Wilson can be reached at [email protected] or 217-786-2311.
