By T. Scott Boatright
The Lincoln Preparatory School Panthers won one for the home crowd and a legendary Grambling high school coach on Saturday at the Michael Lyons Classic at the LPS Gym.
Lincoln Prep trailed by two at the end of the first quarter but rallied in the second stanza to bring a 26-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
But the Bulldogs tightened things up in the third quarter, cutting Lincoln Prep’s lead to 36-34 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
The Panthers maintained that lead the rest of the way to hold on for the two-point victory with both teams scoring 16 points in the final stanza.
“That was a big win — an important win,” said Lincoln Prep coach Antonio Hudson. “It was big because of Coach Michael Lyons. He meant so much to basketball in Grambling. He meant so much to high school basketball throughout Louisiana.
“But more importantly, he meant so much to the players he coached. I was one of those players who played for him at Grambling Lab. He meant so much to so many, so winning in that first Michael Lyons Classic we’ve played in was huge.”
Lyons, the namesake of the Michael Lyons Classic, passed away in February 2023.
He served as an assistant coach under Leon Barmore at Ruston High School before becoming head coach at Grambling Laboratory High School coached 1979 to 2008, amassing a career coaching record of 1,170-198. He posted a 737-100 record with the boys’ basketball from 1979 to the 2008 and a 434-98 record with girls’ basketball from 1979-1999 while winning six state championships and 40 district championships.
Lyons earned 41 different “Coach of the Year” awards during that span.
Amarjae Young led the Panthers to the win over the Bulldogs with 18 points along with four steals and two rebounds.
Stephen Burks III added a double-double for Lincoln Prep with 12 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and a steal while Tre Spann added 10 points, seven boards, two blocked shots, an assist and a steal.
Devin Burton pulled down 10 rebounds and poured in eight points for the Panthers, who also got four points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals from Trumarion Smith.
Zion Hicks added 11 boards in the win for the Panthers.
