By T. Scott Boatright
GRAMBLING — It’s probably good that the LPS gym is only a couple of years old or the atmosphere inside might have blown the roof off the place Friday night.
Anytime Lincoln Preparatory School and Arcadia meet in boys high school basketball action, go ahead and throw the records out the winner.
That wasn’t necessary Friday as the Panthers and Hornets both ended their District 1-1A finale with only one league loss each.
And the rivalry lived up to its billing as Lincoln Prep hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in regulation play before holding on for a 57-52 overtime win over the Hornets before a raucous packed house inside the LPS Gym.
“It just amplifies the atmosphere,” Hudson said about Lincoln Prep vs. Arcadia games. “They always travel well coming here, and they’re good, so that made it even bigger. I knew it was going to be rocking. So it was what I expected. I really didn’t want the blood pressure attack, but other than that we’re good.”
Lincoln Prep started strong, building a 12-4 lead by the end of the first quarter and 24-13 at halftime.
But this was Lincoln Prep vs. Arcadia and both teams, along with the packed house crowd, knew what was coming.at 33-31 with 1:16 left in the stanza.
The Panthers’ Trey Spann left the game briefly in the first half after taking an elbow that opened a nasty cut over his left eye.
And late in that third quarter, Spann had to leave the game again, and the Hornets took advantage of Panthers’ missing one of their key players.
“The band-aid kept coming off and he was bleeding, so it took a while to get one to stick so he could get back in the game,” Hudson said of the second time Spann had to leave the game.
Arcadia tied the contest at 35-35 23 seconds into the final stanza and then moved out on top 39-35 with 6:08 left on the clock.
Spann returned to the game with 2:56 remaining and hit a key 3-pointer from the left wing with 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter to cut Arcadia’s lead to 48-46.
The fact his Panthers stayed within reach of the Hornets for that period without Spann wasn’t lost on Hudson.
“That’s what makes this team good,” Hudson said about having to play without Spann at a crucial part of the contest. “On any given night there’s four to six people that can give you 12-15 points and make a difference, and that’s what’s so special about this team.
“One thing we all know is that when Grambling — Lincoln Prep — plays Arcadia, you can throw the records out the window, you can throw the teams out the window, it’s going to be a show no matter what. I tip my hat to Trey. I’m proud of him. He’s going to be one helluva coach. He’s a helluva coach right now.”
Arcadia hit a free throw with 32.9 seconds remaining to build a three-point lead and had a chance to put the game away with 6.6 seconds remaining with a pair of shots from the charity stripe.
But both those attempts bounced off the rim. The Panthers rebounded the second attempt and quickly pushed the ball upcourt before senior Frediron Payne launched a long 3-pointer with a little more than a second left.
It went through the net just before the buzzer sounded as the crowd exploded after realizing the Panthers had someone pushed the game into overtime.
“He’s really a freshman because this is his first full year playing,” Hudson said about Payne. “But ever since he was younger he practiced against some of our former greats like Chance Robinson and Fred Payne and Meci (Payne). But it just happened to be the COVID year and we didn’t have eighth grade basketball and we couldn’t get much done, and he kinda got out of the groove of it all.
“But his basketball I.Q. is through the roof. His confidence is through the roof. I’m actually mad because he should have already shot one. He should have shot one that he passed to Amarje (Young). But he tries to be unselfish and do exactly what we ask him to do. But tonight he just made a play. He’s always been capable of that.”
Lincoln Prep opened scoring in the extra stanza when Young laid the ball up and in.
The Panthers never trailed after that.
Young led the Panthers with 17 points on the night.
“What I told him earlier today is that he’s been making plays for years,” Hudson said. “The only thing I have to make sure of is that we get him out of the way of himself. If he just relaxes and plays the game the way he can play and not try to do what somebody else can do, he’s a special player.
“He made plays the last time we played (Arcadia). He makes big plays every game. We just have to make sure he stays within what he can do.”
Devin Burton added 12 points and five rebounds for the Panthers while Payne totaled 10 points, five steals and four assists.
Spann finished with eight points (including two huge 3-pointers) along with six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“We didn’t quit coming, even when it got tight,” Hudson said. “And that’s what I was proud to see, especially going into the playoffs. You’ve got to get those types of wins because in the playoffs you’re not going to get blowout wins. Nothing’s going to be easy.
“So you have to work for it. We didn’t give up. We kept fighting, kept pushing, and so did Arcadia, too.”
The Panthers finished the district season tied with Ringgold at 6-1, but the Redskins technically took the 1-1A regular season title with a head-to-head win over the Panthers.
Next up for Lincoln Prep, which stands at 22-7 on the season, will be a home game against Union Parish on Tuesday.
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