Lincoln Park’s 21-point third quarter devoured the Moon Tigers, fueling a 72-58 victory for the Leopards in Section 4-5A boys basketball Tuesday night.
Columbia commit Josh Pratt led Lincoln Park with a dominant performance, delivering 30 points while adding six assists and six rebounds.
“First and foremost, I want to thank God,” Josh Pratt said. “None of this is possible without Him. I want to give Moon credit. They won 17 games last season, so this is a complete turnaround for them. But beating them is a big league win for us. Winning against a team twice is hard, and these wins matter for the section.”
Pratt, who drilled a Kobe-esque contested fadeaway and later buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first quarter, ignited the Leopards with 12 opening-period points and never slowed down.
“It’s almost normal at this point,” his brother Jeremiah Pratt said. “He’s consistent, like (NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander). It happens every night.”
Jeremiah Pratt posted 14 points and four assists, and Malcolm Fry tallied 14 points and five rebounds.
“I’m just proud of them,” Josh Pratt said. “Those young guys are going to take over the team next year when I leave, so I’m thankful to be able to play with them every night, playing hard and playing together. This is my last year playing with my brother. To finish my career with him and Malcolm, these two young guys before they take over, that’s a blessing to me.”
Lincoln Park controlled the pace in the second half. Josh Pratt said that the team emphasized tempo.
“The last time we played them, we rushed a lot of shots,” Josh Pratt said. “We won, but we didn’t really get into our sets and took some bad shots. This time, we wanted to play defense, get stops, slow the game down and move the ball instead of settling for quick one- or two-dribble shots.”
After a 19-point second quarter, Moon trailed 37-30 at halftime. Moon’s Caleb Waclawski opened the third quarter with a basket to trim the deficit to 37-32, but that was as close as it got.
The Leopards quickly turned up the intensity and took control. Led by Josh and Jeremiah Pratt, along with Fry, Lincoln Park went on a 18-4 run to go up 55-36, putting the game out of reach.
Fry’s defense forced turnovers and bad shots in the third quarter that led into offensive transition.
“The guy I was guarding got a couple early baskets, so we talked about it in the locker room,” Fry said. “They told me to pick it up, and I did in the second half. Once we locked in defensively, everything else followed.”
Jeremiah Pratt also turned it on defensively.
“I take pride in defense,” Jeremiah Pratt said. “Even if I’m not scoring or playing well offensively, defense is my standard. That’s what I live by.”
Despite the loss, Moon’s lineup had a balanced scoring attack with Jackson Bauman putting up 15, AJ Buford tallying 13, and Caden Kopay scoring 10. Braeden Stuart notched nine points and eight rebounds.
Lincoln Park’s Ahmir Woods tallied eight points, six coming in the first half.
The Leopards now turn their attention to Chartiers Valley, the leader in the section, looking to split the season series.
“This puts us right in the mix for the second or third spot, and we’re still chasing that No. 1 seed,” Josh Pratt said. “That’s the goal — getting to the top of the league.”