MAIDEN, N.C. — L.J. Smith IV’s season was cut short as a freshman. It’s still going as a sophomore.

The Lincolnton boys basketball team took down conference rival Maiden in the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A playoffs on Friday by a 72-69 score in overtime.

Smith, who is the headliner on most nights, didn’t have to be on this night. Lincolnton is advancing thanks to other names who knocked down open 3-pointers to allow Smith to play decoy for long stretches.

Tyler McClain led his team with 23 points. Tucker Robinette added 15.

Smith still had 20, including a burst of driving layups in overtime that put the Wolves on top for good.

Maiden (22-6) swept Lincolnton in the regular season to earn the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference title, but the Wolves (24-5) got revenge in the conference tournament championship by a 70-69 margin. That was only seven days ago on at East Burke.

Maiden never led in the first half but only trailed 31-28 after falling behind 18-16 in the first quarter. The Blue Devils worked hard to limit Smith, but the Wolves did better on the glass.

The Blue Devils’ advantage in the paint became more apparent in the third quarter as Maiden took its first lead at the 5:30 mark, 35-34. Lincolnton rallied to lead 50-46 going into the fourht, but as the Wolves tried to take the air out of the ball late, Maiden attacked.

Thanks to big men Landen Lyerly (16 points) and Raheim Misher (27), the Blue Devils helped send the game into overtime tied at 60-all.

Up next for the Wolves is a trip to fourth-seeded Salisbury, which defeated 13th-seeded Pine Lake Prep 81-46.

Though team success is all that matters as the calendar turns from February to March, Smith added to his record-breaking total of points with 935 (a 33.4 average), the most by any sophomore in a single NCHSAA season. He broke the previous mark set by Eastern Alamance’s JamesOn Curry (892) in the 2001-02 season. For his two-year career, Smith already at 1,826 points. Curry holds the NCHSAA record with 3,307.

BOX SCORE
Maiden — Zion White 10, Tae Maze 7, Lincoln Frasure 1, Cross Arias 4, Landen Lyerly 16, Raheim Misher 27, Gerald Danner 4
Lincolnton — Nehemiah Thompson 6, Tyler McClain 23, Tucker Robinette 15, L.J. Smith IV 20, Charlie Foster 2, Cam Smith 6