When heavily favored Randolph Southern took the floor on Wednesday, March 4, against Lincoln in the final opening-round game of the tournament, Eagle head coach Rodney Klein had a game plan that he thought would even the playing field.
The plan was simple: push the Rebels out on the floor and make them shoot three-pointers. The plan was a good one. The Rebels only hit two three-pointers in the game, but the Eagles could not keep them out of the paint and off the boards.
The game was tied at 6-6 before the Rebels went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Rebels running the floor and scoring on offensive rebounds in the second quarter built a 30-16 halftime lead and were never threatened in the second half, eventually triggering a running clock in the fourth quarter.
Fenton Coyle led the Rebels with 17 points, Brody Sullivan scored 13 points, and Grady Coyle and Noah Allen each scored 10 points. Dustin Lunsford led the Eagles with 17 points to push his final career scoring total to 923.
It was the final game in a Lincoln basketball uniform for seniors Ben Bates, Braxton Dick and Lunsford.
Coach Klein talked about the game plan. “Randolph Southern does not like to shoot threes because they are not great perimeter shooters,” Klein said, “but they hurt us in transition. We had too many turnovers that allowed them to get easy baskets. Our kids battled and did what we asked them to do.”
Klein also discussed the seniors. “I can’t say enough good things about them. Dustin (Lunsford) has been a special player for us. All three seniors have been leaders for us and they tried to help the young kids get better. I will miss them.”
Randolph Southern (19-5) 14 16 20 18 68
Lincoln (4-19) 6 10 13 10 39
Randolph Southern (68)
Khyler Phillips 2, Brody Mills 0, Fenton Coyle 17, Grady Coyle 10, Allen 10, Sam York 0, Kaden Stewart 3, Drevian Lloyd 9, Cameron Shumaker 4, Sullivan 13, Tylan Long 0
Lincoln (39)
Braylon Buckles 3, Lunsford 17, Ben Bates 4, Braxton Dick 4, Trevor Zapfe 8, Johnny Fugate 0, Carter Pass 0, Keaton Gray 0, Dustin Irwin 0, Gage Collins 3
A version of this article appeared in the March 11 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.