The Abraham Lincoln (Council Bluffs) Lynx boys’ basketball team is off to a scorching 8-0 start, marking their best beginning since the 2019-20 season.
“We have a good saying, you can’t practice soft and expect to play hard,” said head coach Jason Isaacson.
Senior forward Creighton Bracker echoed Isaacson’s approach: “(Coach Isaacson) is always on us. We can’t be perfect, but he wants us to be as close to perfect as we can.”
The team has embraced Isaacson’s demanding philosophy. “These guys are really unselfish. They are bought in on the team,” Isaacson said.
Senior forward Aiden Sandbothe added, “No one took it personally that they didn’t get their shots. As long as we come away with the win, we’re always pretty happy.”
A highlight of the Lynx’s hot start came on Friday night when they earned a dramatic 77-70 win over Bellevue West in double overtime, marking their first victory over the T-Birds since 2015. Bracker delivered a dominant 20-point, 20-rebound performance to lead his team to victory.
“Creighton’s been one of our go-to guys. He’s just an absolute workhorse, he’s a monster,” said Isaacson. “He does the dirty work that not everyone sees,” added Sandbothe.
Bracker explained his mindset, saying, “I just try to work my butt off. The harder man wins.”
The victory also placed the Lynx at 3-0 against Metro opponents, with wins over Omaha Central and Papio.
“When people think of Council Bluffs from Omaha, they think it’s an easy win,” said Sandbothe. “We just work harder, we prove that we can hang with anyone around here.”
Isaacson also recognized the quality of the competition: “We know that it’s great basketball over there, so it’s a great measuring stick for us too.”
Despite their strong start, the Lynx remain focused on the bigger picture. “We really haven’t done anything yet, so we’re just taking it game by game, practice by practice,” said Bracker.
The team’s ultimate goal is to make it to the State Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2020-21. Isaacson emphasized the importance of that achievement for the players: “They’ve been around it, they know that’s kind of the standard here.”
Bracker added, “Watching guys growing up, getting to Wells Fargo would be everything.”
The Lynx will look to extend their unbeaten streak when they face Sioux City East (7-1, 5-0) on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.
You Might Be Interested In:
