‘IT NEVER GETS OLD’
Lincoln Park uses strong defense to get into title game
Very few teams have been able to hang with the Lincoln Park boys basketball team this season. That trend continued in the PIAA Class 4A state semifinal game, sending the Leopards back to Hershey for the second consecutive season.
The Leopards ( 27- 3) cruised to a 74-53 victory against the Hampton Talbots ( 25- 5) in a WPIAL championship rematch Monday night in Wexford, sending them to the state championship for the seventh time in program history.
“It never gets old, man, it never gets old,” Leopards coach Mike Bariski said after the game.
Lincoln Park didn’t waste any time getting started against the Talbots.
While it’s the team’s WPIAL-leading 79 points per game that usually raises eyebrows, it was Lincoln Park’s defense that affected the game the most.
After trading baskets throughout the first quarter, the Leopards turned its defensive pressure up a notch and got the Talbots out of its flow.
The Leopards forced back-to-back turnovers to open the quarter and forced an early Hampton timeout.
“We turned it up a little bit in the second quarter, we picked everybody up full-court, and it really took him a little bit out of rhythm,” Bariski said.
“Organized mayhem is what I call it,” he added.
The pressure also helped get Hampton’s Liam Mignogna, who scored the first 11 points of the game for the Talbots, out of rhythm.
Bariski put six-foot-five senior forward Dontay Green on to defend Mignogna, and the senior’s production was far more limited after that.
Mignogna finished with 23 points, while Lehigh commit Peter Kramer had 22 points in the loss.
“We got more comfortable,” said senior Brandin Cummings, who finished with a game-high 30 points. “We picked up the pressure, we picked up the intensity. I just think we all let go of the beginning-ofthe-game jitters.”
Lincoln Park opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run.
With just more than four minutes to play in the first half, Cummings, a Pitt basketball signee, drilled an and-1 corner three pointer to put his team ahead 34-18. Lincoln Park ended up outscoring Hampton, 24-8, in the second quarter, and turned a one-point lead after the first quarter into a 17-point lead at halftime.
Coming out of halftime, Lincoln Park continued to cause havoc on the defensive end, helping crease turnovers that led to easy baskets on the other end to build an insurmountable lead. Lincoln Park held a 25point lead with just over three minutes to play before both teams removed its starters.
Cummings, who scored 23 points in the first half, continued his impressive play during the postseason.
“[ Cummings] doesn’t want to lose and he can play,” Bariski said. “That comes from years of hard work. … He wants to beat everything that his brother (former Pitt guard Nelly Cummings) did.”
Junior Meleek Thomas also shined with 18 points on the night. It was just another night for the impressive duo.
“Not only are we really skilled and talented players, we’re also really smart players,” Cummings said. “We know what we like to do, the spots that we like to be in and the shots that we like to get. We just let each other do our thing. We make sure we put each other in the right position to be successful.”
As Cummings approaches his final game as a prep athlete before heading to play collegiately, he reflected on his four years of high school. Cummings said he’s been working towards this senior year title run since he watched his brother play on this stage as a kid. He added that a victory would complete his family legacy.
“It just marks the legacy even more,” Cummings said. “It’s something that I want beyond words.”
The Leopards will face the Archbishop Carroll on Thursday night for the state title.