Lincoln East’s boys basketball team found themselves down by 21 points in the first half, before mounting a second half comeback Friday night against Lincoln Southeast.

The Class A No. 4 rated Spartans counted on 25 points from 6-6 senior Wes Dreamer, 16 of those in the final quarter, to rally back and earn a 61-57 victory over the Knights at the Prasch Activities Center, in a game heard on KFOR 103.3FM/1240AM.

East (9-2) found themselves down right away 11-2 and were outscored 11-3 to finish the first quarter as Southeast led 22-5 thanks in part to Ajantae Hogan’s 11 points.  He ended up with 28 to lead all scorers in his first game back after dealing with an illness.  Cameron Fredenberg scored the final basket at the end of the quarter and scored the first two of the second half to extend Southeast’s lead 26-5 with 6:33 remaining before halftime.

The Spartans kept chipping away, mostly at the free throw line.  Jett Janssen hit four free throws, then got a steal and layup as part of his 11-point performance.  East trailed at the break 32-18.

Southeast’s lead dwindled to 42-35 after three quarters, then East mounted a 12-4 run and took control when dreamer connected on a three-pointer to give the Spartans a 47-46 lead with just over four-and-a-half minutes to play.

The Knights regained control, but Dreamer countered for the Spartans by connecting on a basket and drawing a foul from Southeast’s Max Renn for his fourth personal.  Then a technical foul was assessed on Renn, who then fouled out, and Dreamer sank the foul shot and the two other free throws that followed to push East ahead 54-50 with 3:31 left.

Southeast’s final lead came when McGinness Schneider hit a pair of free throws to give the Knights a 55-54 advantage.  But East regained the lead for good when Chang Deng hit a three-pointer, then Dreamer and Carter Glenn combined to hit four free throws to seal the win.

Follow Jeff Motz on Twitter: @JeffMotzKFOR

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