What a difference a year has made for both the Montour and Lincoln Park boys basketball programs.
A year ago, the Spartans won the Section 4-5A title and finished the season with a 25-3 record while the Leopards suffered through, by far, their worst season ever, ending a nightmarish campaign with a 2-20 mark.
The script has been flipped this season with the Leopards in second place, one game from the top in the section while the Spartans are near the bottom with only four wins.
However, the start of the second half of section play nearly turned into Freaky Friday as the teams almost reversed roles back to 2025.
Montour missed on several fourth-quarter opportunities to take the lead and then misfired on a game-tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer as Lincoln Park hung on to win on the road, 58-55.
“First game back for Josh Pratt since being out,” Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski said. “He’s a great player, but he tried to do too much at times.”
Pratt missed time due to a fractured bone in his ankle.
“The thing that he normally has is that sweet fadeaway, and he kind of struggled with that,” Bariski said. “Maybe some conditioning legs were gone a little bit.”
The legs and shot for Pratt, the 6-foot-3 senior transfer from Aliquippa, were strong early on. He scored 19 of his game-high 27 points by halftime.
The first three quarters turned into a game of runs for both teams.
The Leopards scored eight of the final 10 points in the opening quarter to lead after one, 17-10.
Following a Jeremiah Pratt 3-pointer to open the second quarter that put Lincoln Park up by 10 points, the Spartans answered with 10 straight points to tie the game, 20-20.
Following a missed free throw that would have tied the game 23-23, Lincoln Park responded by outscoring Montour 14-5 the rest of the first half to lead at the break, 37-27.
An 8-0 run in the third quarter pulled the Spartans to within one point thanks to the play of senior guard Mark Carter.
He effectively drove the lanes and scored on layups, many uncontested, as he scored nine of his team-high 23 points in the third quarter.
“I don’t care what their record is. They’re back to full strength, and that’s a good basketball team and this is a tough place to play,” Bariski said. “We were ready for them, but they played a good game.”
The fourth quarter was close throughout, with the biggest lead by the Leopards being five points.
Bariski said he would have liked to see his team settle more in its half-court offense in the fourth quarter to take some time off the clock and get better shot selections.
“Every game is a learning process,” Bariski said. “The ball is not on fire. We don’t have to shoot it after one pass, and we finally started doing that near the end.”
Leading by two, Josh Pratt had a chance to ice the game with five seconds left but missed the second of his two free throws. However, Brandon Bennett’s 3-point shot for the tie was way wide of the mark and Lincoln Park had survived.
“I think it was a tough, gritty win, especially in their place with a big crowd,” Josh Pratt said. “We definitely have to clean things up offensively and defensively, but I’m proud of my guys and thanking God that I’m able to play and finish out my senior year.”
Freshman Amaizen Straughters had 16 points for Lincoln Park, which improves to 6-1 in Section 4-5A and 10-3 overall.
After missing nine games, sophomore Zane Schachter returned to the Montour lineup and scored 13 points as the Spartans fell to 2-5 in the section and 4-11 overall with a fourth straight loss.
“This was important,” Bariski said of the win. “These are section games, and you’re playing to get in the tournament, so getting a section win is always a plus.”