By T. Scott Boatright
Lincoln Prep Panthers coach Antonio Hudson has built his team around defense and preaches it every day, be it in practice or in a game.
And fittingly, it was the Panthers’ defensive leader, Zion Hicks, who sparked Lincoln Prep’s 50-43 win in a District 1-1A rivalry showdown against Arcadia in a non-league game Thursday night inside the LPS Gym.
Hicks poured in 27 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Panthers, the No. 1 team in Class 1-A power rankings, to the win over the Hornets, a team Lincoln Prep never has any trouble getting fired up to play,
The first half seemed more a physical, hard hitting football game rather than a run and gun hoops showdown, with Arcadia leading 11-9 at the end of the first quarter before a short jumper by Hornets’ eighth-grader Braylon Harrell with 8.5 seconds left in the second stanza knotted the game at 21-21 at halftime.
“The way we defend, it can be really special at times,” Hudson said. “We can be really good defensively, like we were tonight. But if you notice, overall as a team, we’re still struggling with offensive rebounding. If we can put it all together when we’re defending like that, and get those rebounds, man we would be really special, because I can’t ask for nothing more than they give me on defense. I can’t ask for nothing more for what they do there.
“But the other thing is, that was a football score on both sides, which means Arcadia defended pretty well, too. I’ve got as much respect for (Arcadia’s Travious Fielding) as I do any coach in the state. I respected him as a player and I respect him as a coach.”
Hudson said the rivalry between the two nearby schools always turns things into a barnburner.
“I don’t care who’s on the team when Grambling/Lincoln Prep and Arcadia play, it’s going to be a tough game,” Hudson said.
But it was the Panthers who caught fire to open the third quarter as they scored eight straight points on a Trey Spann putback and free throw, four straight free throws by Hicks and a Josiah Spann layup to move on top 29-21 1:47 into the stanza.
And Lincoln Prep maintained that lead the rest of the quarter, taking a 39-32 lead into the final period of play.
Arcadia cut the Panthers’ lead to four points at 41-37 with 4:24 remaining on a pair of Harrell free throws, but Lincoln Prep countered with Hicks’ layup off a pass from Kaden Vernon followed by Hicks; second thunderous dunk of the contest to stretch the lead to 45-38 with 2:58 left on the clock.
“It could be Zion’s night every night like it was tonight,” Hudson said. “Zion is a special talent. He’s just got to apply it and get that confidence in himself. I felt like I was playing when he dunked that ball because that’s what we’ve been trying to get him to do because he’s so athletic.
“He’s one of the highest jumpers on the floor no matter who he’s playing. Just go up there and finish the basketball. He’s been playing well all year. He’s averaging a double-double and he’s one of the main reasons we’ve been as successful as we have. Those two dunks gave us momentum, and basketball is a game of momentum. In a rivalry game like this with the band playing and popcorn popping and cheerleaders going nuts, it was just so emotional it just gets you going.”
Talking about those dunks got Hicks going emotionally, too.
“I love doing that and having the place go nuts,” Hicks said. “But this is a team game. It’s not only me. The whole team played a good game and led us to the win.”
Down the stretch, Arcadia was forced to foul and Hudson made sure his team got the ball to Xavier Combs to junior free-throw specialist Xavier Combs, who scored four points on a layup and two charity shots while adding a pair of rebounds and a blocked shot in the game;s final minutes.
“He’s a workaholic — the type of player you want on your team,” Hudson said of Combs. “Well-mannered, always good and friendly in the hallways. He’s a good teammate and always plays as hard as he can play.”
The Panthers also got nine points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot from Trey Spann along with six points, four boards, four steals and two assists from Jabari Levingston.
Next up for the Panthers, now 14-2 overall, will be a 7 p.m. game at Madison Parish on Tuesday.
