Lincoln Park guts out win over Laurel Highlands, 69-66, in battle of standouts

Logan Carney, Special to the Times
·4 min read
Lincoln Park's Dorian McGhee (21) goes for a layup over the head of Laurel Highland's Rodney Gallagher (2) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.
Lincoln Park's Dorian McGhee (21) goes for a layup over the head of Laurel Highland's Rodney Gallagher (2) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.

WESTMORELAND COUNTY — Pitt recruit Brandin Cummings and Lincoln Park Laurel Highlands defeated West Virginia recruit Rodney Gallagher and Laurel Highlands in the PIAA quarterfinals at the castle in Norwin on Friday.

“It’s high caliber athletes playing against each other,” said five-star recruit and Lincoln Park star player Meleek Thomas on playing against players such as Gallagher. “I’m going to be playing in the NBA and these are high-level athletes. So just to battle with them, and know that, it’s a dog fight.”

Laurel Highlands got the ball first, but a steal by Dorian McGhee led to a Meleek Thomas basket to give Lincoln Park the game’s first lead early. Laurel Highlands’ Ethan Kofler tied things up, but Trey Schacter gave Lincoln Park the lead right back.

Lincoln Park's Meleek Thomas (5) shoots a three point shot over the head of Laurel Highland's Patrick Cavanagh (15) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.
Lincoln Park's Meleek Thomas (5) shoots a three point shot over the head of Laurel Highland's Patrick Cavanagh (15) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.

That basket kicked off a 6-0 run for Lincoln Park as they extended their lead to 8-2 before Laurel Highlands’ Keondre DeShields hit a pair of foul shots to end the run followed by a Gallagher three-pointer that brought them to within a point at 8-7.

A little run highlighted by a deep Thomas three-pointer gave Lincoln Park a 13-9 lead, but Laurel Highlands did pull back within one shortly after. A steal-and-score off an inbound pass by Cummings gave Lincoln Park a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“All week we preached that we’re closer to our final goal,” said Thomas. “We got one goal after this section and the WPIAL, that’s the state. We handled business tonight.”

DeShields and Patrick Cavanaugh scored to start the second quarter to give Laurel Highlands their first lead at 16-15. Those baskets were the start of a 9-1 run that included a Gallagher three-point play to give them a 21-16 lead.

A Cummings three-pointer followed by a McGhee block on Gallagher brought momentum back to Lincoln Park. It started a 10-0 run of their own to give them a 26-21 lead.

“We did different things that worked,” said Lincoln Park head coach Mike Bariski on the win. “We were cool under pressure, couple turnovers in there and that was it.”

Lincoln Park's DeAndre Moye (1) goes for a layup after getting around Laurel Highland's Antwan Black (32) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.
Lincoln Park's DeAndre Moye (1) goes for a layup after getting around Laurel Highland's Antwan Black (32) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.

DeShields stole a rebound from Lincoln Park and hit the second-chance to end the run as the teams started to trade points. A huge block by Gallagher at the end of the half prevented Lincoln Park from extending their lead as they went into halftime up 28-25.

The teams traded baskets to start the second half before a three-pointer by Lincoln Park’s DeAndre Moye broke that trend. A rebound set up a big fast break slam by Lincoln Park’s Dontay Green to give them a 37-29 lead and force a Laurel Highlands timeout.

That lead grew to as much as nine at 40-31, but never extended into that double-digit territory while Laurel Highlands started a run that cut the lead down to five at 42-37.

The teams traded shots to end the quarter before a foul call with 0.4 seconds left gave Laurel Highlands the chance to cut the lead to 48-44 entering the fourth quarter.

Lincoln Park's Meleek Thomas (5) prepares to drive to the basket after getting around Laurel Highland's Rodney Gallagher (2) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.
Lincoln Park's Meleek Thomas (5) prepares to drive to the basket after getting around Laurel Highland's Rodney Gallagher (2) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.

In the fourth, Laurel Highlands cut that to within a basket at 50-48 as the teams, again, traded shots. Lincoln Park put the ball in the hands of Thomas, who hit a pair of three-pointers in the midst of a 9-2 run that was ended by a Gallagher three-pointer.

The Leopards brought the lead back up to nine but Laurel Highlands cut it down to three with approximately a minute left at 62-59 before Lincoln Park pulled away and appeared to have the game in hand.

However, a last ditch effort by Laurel Highlands behind Gallagher mounted a comeback and gave them a chance down three with under 15 seconds in the game. They couldn’t get a shot off, and Lincoln Park won 69-66.

Laurel Highland's Rodney Gallagher (2) reacts after Antwan Black (32) missed a pass during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game against Lincoln Park Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.
Laurel Highland's Rodney Gallagher (2) reacts after Antwan Black (32) missed a pass during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game against Lincoln Park Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.

“Our two against their two,” said Bariski on the difference being the deeper bench of Lincoln Park. “Our three and four got to be better than their three and four. Our guys aren’t afraid of the moment.”

Gallagher finished as the game’s leading scorer with 30 points. Two players finished with 20-point games in DeShields (24) and Thomas (21) while two more had 10-point games in Green (15) and Moye (11).

Lincoln Park will move on to play Uniontown in the PIAA semifinals who defeated North Catholic on a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Lincoln Park's Brandin Cummings (3) goes for a layup while being guarded by Laurel Highland's Patrick Cavanagh (15) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.
Lincoln Park's Brandin Cummings (3) goes for a layup while being guarded by Laurel Highland's Patrick Cavanagh (15) during the first half of the PIAA 4A Quarterfinals game Friday night at Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Lincoln Park guts out win over Laurel Highlands, 69-66, in battle of standouts