By T. Scott Boatright
Lincoln Prep trailed by points four at the end of the opening stanza but rallied with a strong second quarter before holding on for a 75-73 win over Richwood late Saturday night in the final game of the 2026 Michael Lyons Classic inside the LPS Gym.
Lyons, who died in February of 2023, coached Lincoln Prep head coach Antonio Hudson at the old Grambling Lab High School, where Lyons chalked up a 737-100 record guiding the Kittens boys team and 434-98 coaching the Lady Kittens from 1979-2008, capturing six state championships and 40 district titles during that span.
Jabari Levingston was the catalyst for the Panthers against the Rams, pouring in 36 points while adding 11 rebounds along with seven assists and five steals.
“It was Jabari’s night — his turn,” said Panthers coach Antonio Hudson. “It’s not anything that’s planned, it just seems to fall into place as a game progresses and somebody gets a hot hand, tonight it was Jabari.
“We were down 21-17 at the end of the first quarter, but then Jabari gets hot and we outscore Richwood 18-11 in the second quarter to 35-32 at halftime.
“It was a tight game all the rest of the way. We led 53 going into the final quarter.”
And the game remained tight throughout that back-and-forth final stanza.
“At the end, we had a chance to make a free throw to put us up by three (points), but we missed and the Rams got the rebound. “Trey Lane, who’s a great player — he was the Player of the Year last year in (Class) 3A, got a good look and took a shot to tie and missed.
“But he made his own rebound and we’re just fortunate that it didn’t roll in his favor. It was a long game, a back-and-forth game. It was a long day. My kids were there at the gym all day (of the seven-game event). I wanted them to be there and mingle with the alumni because there were so great former Grambling Lab basketball players there. But the team maintained their focus when they needed it most, at the end, and came away with the win.”
Trey Spann added 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot for Lincoln Prep, which also got 14 points, 11 boards, four assists, a steal and a blocked shot from Zion Hicks and seven points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals by Josiah Spann.
“The thing is, those starters feed off of each other,” Hudson said. “It’s a friendly competition. I tell them that every day we’re in the gym and we’re working our tails off, it’s nobody but us. So, a friendly competition is what we need. Holding each other accountable is what we need.
“What they did was just play hard. We have moments in time where we may get frustrated with each other, and we huddle up, talk about it and move on. They just went out and supported each other. When Jabari makes a play, Trey’s cheering. When Zion makes plays, Josiah’s cheering. They all cheer for each other. They just have a good feel for each other.”
Next up for Lincoln Prep, now 16-3, will be a game at Mangham on Tuesday night.
