SAN FRANCISCO - Lowell junior guard Abishek Khadka has a short memory, and he used it to put a scoreless first quarter, during which he committed several turnovers, behind him last night to ultimately lead host Lowell to a 50-35 win over Lincoln.
The Cardinals used a 13-1 run at the end of the third quarter, keyed by Khadka’s five points and crucial three-pointer, to secure a decisive win over the Mustangs, as the two Academic Athletic Association squads faced off Thursday night.
Khadka finished with a game-high 14 points, to go along with four assists, to pace the Cardinals.
“My teammates got me open, we just got open looks. They were playing up-tempo so we had back doors and got some good looks,” said Khadka of his offensive success.
The Mustangs played the Cardinals tough in the first quarter, although Lowell raced out to an early 6-0 lead on consecutive three-pointers to open the game. Lowell’s overwhelming height advantage also created problems for the Mustangs, who often found it difficult to find open shots.
“They were more disciplined in where they were, position-wise; they limited us to tough shots that closed us out,” said Lincoln coach Curtis Chan.
However, Lincoln fought back and ended the first quarter with two three-pointers from Kauchani Heredia-Bratt, to account for a 14-10 score after the first.
The second quarter was marked by traded turnovers. With some careless passes resulting in points for the Mustangs, the Cardinals went scoreless for the first three minutes of the second quarter. A 10-2 run gave Lincoln the lead at 20-16, again using the long ball to key their surge. They opened the second quarter with two consecutive three pointers, courtesy of Johnny Li and Tai Garcia, to put them on top.
But Lowell (13-5, 6-1) would fight back and retake the lead thanks to their decisive rebounding advantage, led by Amaan Shaikh and Isaac Finestone, who each tallied five second-quarter rebounds. Lowell converted numerous second chance shots that would put them up 26-20 at the half.
“We knew they were going to be a smaller team, so we came out thinking about getting the ball to our bigger guys and going inside," Shaikh said. "We did a good job of attacking the rim.”
Lowell dialed up their offense and defensive pressure in the second half to turn what had been a tight game into a comfortable lead. They utilized an up-tempo offense, crisp passing and superior rebounding to extend their six-point halftime lead to 15 by the end of the third quarter at 40-25. They would never look back.
With a three-pointer from leading scorer Khadka and another from Jonathan Lee, who tallied six third-quarter points to go with three rebounds, the Cardinals were well on their way to a decisive win against the Mustangs. Ultimately, Lincoln (9-14, 4-3) couldn’t solve Lowell’s tough defense.
“The backbone of our team is defense," said Lowell coach Robert Ray. "We only held them to five points in the third quarter which is really what we were looking for.”
In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs played the Cardinals even, each team tallying 10 points. Ultimately however, the Cardinals’ superior height and disciplined offense would prevent any miracle comeback.
Heredia-Bratt led the Mustangs with six points. The Cardinals had a balanced attack with Lee chipping in eight points and Sean Lin adding seven. They also decisively outrebounded the Mustangs 34-17, with Shaikh grabbing nine to go with six points and Finestone corralling 10 rebounds and tallying five points.
“We don’t have one guy, we have everybody and that’s Lowell basketball," Ray said. "It’s a well-rounded team and in my past years, it’s teams like this that wins championships, so I’m excited.”
Lowell will face Mission High School at home while Lincoln hosts Wallenberg, both on Tuesday, January 31 .
