Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-29
LINCOLN HlCa THE VICTOR
Visitors Show Class Not Seen Here
This Year in a High School.
OMAHA TAKES A GREAT BRACE
Almost Overcome Lead Acquired ~
visitors In the First Half, hut
could Not Quite Land
the Victory.

Lincoln High school, 81 omaha hie
school. &
In one Of the fastest, fiercest and most
intensely exciting high school basket ball
games ever played in Omaha. the quintet
Of stars from the capital city won from
the local five by such a narrow margin
that the victory would a been turned
into defeat II the purple and white players
could nave continued with a minute more
OF their whirlwind finish. So marvelously
did the Gate City lads brace up In the
second half that they made twenty-five
points while their opponents piled up only
ten. but the first half score of . to 8 In
favor OF the visitors was too much for the
OmAhans to make up in the time they had.
Starting with everything apparently In
Lincoln's favor. the game was disappoint-
ing to the spectators, OF whom there were
several hundred. Speed, qulckness, sure
ness. strength, weight. height, team work,
basket tossing and superior ability in
blocking, guarding, passing and recovering,
all seemed In favor OF the LIncolnitee at
first. and they maintained their superiority
In most Of those points throughout the
contest.
Omaha did not score until six points had
been chalked up for the red and black,
and even then, when Mckinney set things
moving by scoring a field goal, slow prog
ress was made. Luck seemed to be against
the locals. Carriers nice skill In rolling up
the points on fouls going back on him, the
whole team apparently playing raggedly,
and Omaha players missing eight or ten
consecutive chances. many OF them rare
opportunities to make field goals.
Omaha's Guards I'm Evidence.
Then, to top off the trouble. Referee
Sam Waugh, one OF the coolest and most
level-headed officials who has visited
Omaha for a high school game this season,
called fouls on Omaha much closer than
Umpire Keester Of Omaha did on the Lin
coin players. This was no fault OF waugh's
and although the crowd seemed dissatisfied
with the deal they really had their own
official to blame
Mckinney. omaha's speedy and stellar
forward, was not in the mixing at all
sometimes as compared with the players
of the other team. who managed to hand
out a somewhat terrifying species of basket
ball without breaking the rules much.
II It hadn't been for the local guards at
some stages OF the fray the score would
have been much more one-sided for Lin
coin. During a great part OF the time the
play was in Lincoln territory, 50 1t was
up to Guards Neavles and Dodds and
Center Nagl TO keep up their rep, and their
certainly did so.
Starting close in the second half, the
contest between the two rival schools
waxed warm for a short time before
Omaha came out ahead with more thar
twice as many points In that half az
Lincoln. This was due more to determine.
ton and the awakening of the Omahans
than to anything else, for when they wen
into the second half It wss with thu knowl.
edge that unless they did an almost Her.
c~ulenean feat they would be drubbed 50
badly that they would never dare challeng,
Lincoln again.
Excitement increased with every move
of the players and when an Omaha lac
would score the big gym" would be filled
with the most exuberant of cheers. Car
rier, Mckinney and Nagl pulled off som,
astonishing stunts in goal throwing and
the lack of character that typified theil
playing during the first half was entirely
gone.
NagI the Star.
Nagl was the star of the whole game for
Omaha, although great praise and credit
is due the whole team. Seeming TO wake
up when he received a terrific bump or
the back Of the head, he plunged into the
match with utter abandon and did not stoI
short of accomplishing wonders in the resi-
Of his playing. Playing against perhaps
the best player Lincoln has, and with tn,
disadvantages Of height and reach, hi
landed five field goals during the game
all of them in the second half. After the
match was over. the collapse incident t.