By T. Scott Boatright
Lincoln Prep used a strong third-quarter effort to overcome a shaky start and pull off a 38-25 home win over Bastrop Tuesday night.
The Rams led 13-12 at halftime but the Panthers roared out in the third quarter to outscore the Rams 16-2 in the stanza.
“That was good to see because we really needed it at that point,” Hudson said. “I wasn’t really happy with the way we started. We just didn’t show the kind of effort I wanted in that first half. IT wasn’t the (lack of) scoring that bothered me, it was just the lack of effort and focus.
“We looked like it’s still early in the season, which it is. But we have to start games better against really good teams. We can’t afford to start games the way we did as far as the energy level we started with. That wasn’t nearly good enough. But we came out strong to start the third quarter and that was really good to see.
The Panthers were also playing without starting point guard Trey Spann, who missed practice on Monday on a football visit to Centenary.
“I don’t like using players who don’t practice the day before a game,” Hudson said. “That’s all that was about.”
Hudson took advantage of the opportunity to work in other players at the position.
“We can move Josiah (Spann) to the point and move Jabari (Levingston) off the ball,” Hudson said. “So we worked some with that tonight. We’ve also got an eighth-grader that’s going to be pretty good, so it was good to get him some work out there.”
The football-like score showed the game’s physicality.
“That’s not a bad thing, though,” Hudson said. “It’s always good to play that kind of physical game against good competition.”
Levingston led the Panthers with 14 points while adding seven rebounds, six steals and two assists while Zion Hicks chipped in with 11 points, 10 boards, two blocks and a steal.
Devin Shine added seven points, two rebounds and a steal for Lincoln Prep.
Next up for the Panthers, now 6-1, will be a home game starting at 5:20 p.m. today against Green Oaks.
