The Lincoln Academy boys basketball team rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Medomak Valley 54-42 on Tuesday, Jan. 30 in the Panthers’ den. It’s the first time the Eagles have defeated Medomak Valley since a 48-46 victory on Jan. 17, 2014.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 11-3 on the season, while the Panthers drop to 13-3.
Lincoln Academy jumped out to an early 8-0 lead behind the hot shooting of Lucas Houghton, who notched 11 points in the first half to spark the Eagles. Lincoln Academy continued to have the upper hand at the end of the first quarter 16-8, and at the half, 23-19. Medomak slowly and methodically built a comeback rally in an epic rivalry battle between two of the top Class B teams in the state.
The Panthers clawed their way to a 32-28 lead with 3:06 left in the third quarter with leading scorers Kory Donlin and Gabe Lash tallying several points each from inside the paint.
The Panthers lead was short lived, however. Casey Duncan hit one of two free throws, Gabe Hagar buried a layup from in close, and E.J. Hunt immediately stole the in-bounds pass and put it right in the hoop to restore the Eagles’ lead at 33-32. After alternating free throws, the score was tied 34-34 heading into the final stanza.
Hagar scored 16 points in the game to lead the Eagles, including eight points in the fourth quarter. Casey Duncan was also clutch for Lincoln Academy down the stretch, scoring all 10 of his points in the game in the second half including eight in the fourth quarter.
“We got an early lead and it felt like it was our turn to win one against Medomak,” said Duncan, a senior forward who made six free throws while the Panthers were fouling to stop the clock.
“I knew I needed to step up. In soccer and tennis I’ve been in a lot of pressure situations, so I felt calm and focused this time around,” said Duncan, who plays a big, physical style of basketball.
In addition to scoring key points, Duncan was a force on defense in the second half, blocking the Panthers from getting the ball to Donlin and Lash under the basket.
“Casey had a heck of a second half,” said Eagles head coach Ryan Ball. “He got hurt early in the season and it limited his minutes. He had not really hit his stride until today when we really needed him.”
The physical game had just about everything a basketball fan could ask for, including a technical foul called on Ball at the end of the first half after a controversial call went the Panthers’ way.
“We were all a bit frustrated after losing the lead and momentum, and getting some tough calls. I was just trying to fire the guys up,” said Ball.
The Eagles made adjustments in the second half that affected the outcome.
“We played pretty good defense in the first half, but (Kory) Donlin and (Gabe) Lash were posting up on us and we had to stop that if we’re going to beat them,” said Ball. “We came out from halftime with a plan to limit the touches for Donlin and Lash, to deny them the ball. Our guys did a great job executing that. We wanted to make their other guys shoot from outside and pressure them, and tonight they weren’t as successful as usual from long range.”
The first half of the fourth quarter saw the teams exchange baskets and free throws evenly, with the Eagles staying ahead by two or three points until Hagar buried a 3-pointer with 3:46 left to extend the lead to 44-39. A subsequent steal by Hagar and a hard Panthers’ foul that brought Duncan to the line raised the raucous Eagles’ fans to their feet as they sensed an upset was close at hand. Duncan went on a scoring bonanza notching eight of the final 10 Eagles points to clinch the win.
In addition to Hagar’s 16 points, and Duncan’s 10, the Eagles got scoring from Lucas Houghton 13, Drew Hunt 8, E.J. Hunt 4 and Braxton Crockett 3. Tucker Stiles played strong defense and led the Eagles with five rebounds, two steals, and three assists.
Donlin led the Panthers with 16 points and Lash scored 15. Also scoring for Medomak Valley were Luke Cheesman 5, Mason Nguyen 5 and Kristian Schumann 1.
