By T. Scott Boatright
GIBSLAND — Lincoln Prep was pushed to overtime Monday night before heading home with a 66-61 win over the Gibsland-Coleman Bulldogs in a battle of two powerhouse teams.
Tied up at 47-47 at the end of regulation, the extra stanza didn’t begin much to the liking of Panthers coach Antonio Hudson.
“We gave up a 3-pointer, and then came down and we took a bad shot and went down and we fouled them,” Hudson said. “So, they went up by four and then once they were up by four, we just kind of locked in. You know, sometimes the scores can be deceiving, but the way we defend it, when we’re on and can do a good job.
“But we’ve got to get better at rebounding the ball. We defend, force him into a bad shot, but we don’t offend if we don’t finish the position with a rebound. And that’s a problem. We were fortunate tonight because we did give them too many second chances.”
After falling behind by four points to start the OT period, the Panthers reeled off eight straight points to close out the game.
Trailing 14-10 at the end of the first quarter, the Panthers rallied back to lead 28-24 at the half.
The Panthers then stretched their lead to double digits in the third stanza before letting the Bulldogs back into the game.
“We’ve got to cherish every possession,” Hudson said. “There was a point in the third quarter that we were up by 11, but we didn’t cherish our possessions and threw the ball away and just did things that gave them momentum. And Gibsland is a tough place to play. I tip my hat to them because that’s a really good team.”
Jabari Levingston led the Panthers with 22 points while adding six rebounds, three assists and three steals while Zion Hicks recorded a double-double with 21 points, 11 boards while adding two steals, a blocked shot and an assist.
Trey Spann also scored in double-digits for Lincoln Prep with 11 points while adding six rebounds, six steals and three assists with younger brother Josiah Spann totaling seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Junior Devin Shine played a key role for the Panthers despite only scoring two points while adding five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“Devin Shine made some great plays for us tonight, from tying up jump balls to rebounding,” Hudson said. “And then in overtime, heamade the shot that tied the game (at 41-41). You know, I can be tough on him and sometimes he doesn’t understand. But I’m tough on him because he can be a key player for this team.”
Next up for the Panthers, now 11-2, will be a game at Union Parish at 6 p.m. Saturday.
