Rams ready for first-place Wolves

There’s something Highland Tech coach Butch Blalock already knew about his team but was reminded of Friday.

“We’re a confident group,” Blalock said after the Rams rallied from a late five-point deficit for a 63-61 win over Bessemer City. “Even when we’re shooting badly, we’re confident shooters.”

The coach hopes that confidence continues as Rams play host to Lincolnton in a key Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference game on Tuesday.

Lincolnton (15-2, 10-0 SPC) carries a 12-game winning streak into the matchup and won the first meeting 70-54. Highland Tech (11-5, 8-2 SPC) is two games back in the standings, having also lost to Cherryville.

“When you’ve got the best team in the league coming in, you’ve got to look forward to it,” Blalock said.

Here are the stakes: If Lincolnton wins, it will clinch a share of the SPC title — its first league championship since 2000. If Highland Tech wins, the Rams will stand only one game back but would need help from one of Lincolnton’s final three opponents to have a shot at a piece of the title.

The Wolves took control from the beginning the last time these teams met. Lincolnton scored the game’s first 10 points and didn’t let the Rams get any closer than five the rest of the way.

A balanced effort did the trick for Lincolnton. Jonathan Gidney and Jonathan Sherrill each scored 15 while Lorenzo Carter gave the Wolves a third double-digit scorer at 12 points.

The Wolves had a difficult time slowing down Highland Tech junior guard Jevon Patton, who had 25 points, six assists, six rebounds and five steals. But the Rams didn’t get much production elsewhere.

Entering Friday’s games, Jalen Littlejohn, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, was leading Lincolnton in scoring at 18.9 points per game. Carter was next in scoring at 13.6, followed by Sherrill at 12.3.

Patton leads Highland Tech at 21.1 points per game. Josh Neely, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, is coming off an 18-point, 14-rebound effort against Bessemer City, raising his averages to 10.1 points and 9.0 rebounds.

Phillip Gardner: 704-869-1843; twitter.com/gazettephil