Lincoln Park opened Central Valley Roundball tournament with victory over Laurel Highlands
CENTER TWP. – The Central Valley Roundball Basketball Holiday Classic featured some of the most outstanding individual talents in the state as well as some of the best teams.
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Both were evident in the 4 p.m. game of the opening day Thursday as Rodney Gallagher of Laurel Highlands scored 35 points ― 24 in the second half ― but it was the team from Lincoln Park that prevailed with the 70-66 win and stayed undefeated.
“Rodney Gallagher was amazing,” said Lincoln Park junior Brandin Cummings, who led the Leopards with 23 points. “But this game meant a lot to us. They won the WPIAL in Class 5A last year and dropped down to 4A ― they were ranked the No. 1 team and we were No. 2 ― now we’re No. 1.
“The team winning is what we want, we want to stay undefeated.”
Gallagher, a West Virginia football recruit, showed his athleticism from the start ― his three-pointer gave the Mustangs a 3-2 lead and when he scored early in the second, the lead was up to five at 22-17.
Over the last 5:46 of the first half, though, Lincoln Park used five different players to record a 19-6 run and Laurel Highlands never led again.
Closing out the first-half scoring for Lincoln Park was defensive and rebounding specialist Dorian McGhee with a pair of free throws. The junior continued to add points in the second half, finishing with 11 as Laurel Highlands couldn’t just focus on Cummings and sophomore Meleek Thomas, who finished with 20.
“We knew we had to bring our 'A' game,” said McGhee. “It’s my role to provide defense and rebounding but if what it takes is me scoring in double digits, I don’t care.
“Winning is what mattered and it means a lot to win and be No. 1. I expected more of a defensive game but that’s not how it turned out.”
Gallagher had more to do with that than anyone else. He scored 16 straight for the Mustangs in the third quarter and, although that forced Lincoln Park to match the points, the impressive run only cut the lead from four to two.
“We gave the fans their money’s worth,’ said Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski. “Gallagher was unbelievable ― he seemed to score at will.
“I knew we had secondary scoring we could count on and it was there. Our top two scorers are good, but we know the other three could be top dogs anywhere else and nobody is afraid to shoot. That took me some time getting used to, but I did.”
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Bariski was also very comfortable playing such a tough opponent when other teams are choosing to play lesser opponents or just practicing.
“You don’t get better playing the little sisters of the poor,” he said. ‘We grew as a team playing against Laurel Highlands and we’ll grow again (playing Archbishop Wood). We switched some things up this game, but we’ll use it again so I’m not going to say what it is, but we learned.”
That’s what teams do.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Lincoln Park defeats Laurel Highlands, 70-66, in battle of heavyweight teams
