Panthers honor Lyons at home game
The family of the late Grambling Lab basketball coach Michael Lyons was honored Saturday with a commemorative plaque at the school’s first ever Michael Lyons Classic. Photo by Brennen Zigler (BIGG ZIGG)
It was only fitting Lincoln Prep won a 52-50 thriller over Gibsland-Coleman for the first ever Michael Lyons Classic on Saturday.
After all, the late and beloved Lyons won plenty in his multiple decades at Grambling Lab as he took the Panthers to championship glory throughout his coaching tenure. From 1979 to 2008, Lyons won over 1,000 games with six state championships, turning Grambling Lab into a powerhouse across the state.
To honor Lyons, who passed away in February, Lincoln Prep put on an all- day basketball tournament featuring some of the top prep programs in the region from Arcadia, Carroll, and Franklin Parish, and finally the nightcap between Prep (8-7) and Gibsland-Coleman (10-7).
Even before the Panthers took the court late Saturday evening, cars overflowed the parking lot of Lincoln Prep’s campus, and the stands were packed shoulder to shoulder – a sign for Prep administrators that Lyons’ legacy holds strong in the community and will always be associated with high-level basketball.
“It shows what Coach Lyons meant not only to the school but to the community,” Lincoln Prep Athletic Director Glen Hall said. “He was always part of the community, always doing things in the community. It was a great feeling having the family here, some of his former players and guys that worked with him. It was just a great night. It felt like the old Grambling High mystique was back.”
Antonio Hudson would know that feeling well, having played for Lyons before eventually taking his basketball talents to LSU. Now, as head coach of the Panthers, Hudson gifted Lyons’ family with a commemorative plaque before tipoff and thanked the family for treating him and all former players and students with love like his late coach did.
“I just want to thank everybody that came out and supported all the really good games,” Hudson said. “That’s what it’s all about. It’s good that we all came together to honor coach like we did.”
Once the game began between Prep and Gibsland, the Panthers needed a minute to turn up their defensive intensity to cause problems for the Bulldogs.
After leading 6-3 midway through the first, Prep was outscored 9-4 to trail 12-10 entering the second quarter as secondchance opportunities were falling for Gibsland.
The second quarter saw Prep pick up energy on defense, taking multiples charges and crashing the boards to pull ahead 26-21 by halftime.
At the break, Prep had already taken five charges and forced over 10 turnovers.
The third quarter didn’t start with quite the same energy, as Prep missed layups and began turning the ball over at a high rate with communication lapses. Before long, Gibsland held the Panthers scoreless over the final three and a half minutes of the third to cut the deficit to 36-34.
“We gotta be better to start the second half,” Hudson said. “Came out the first four possessions and we get nothing from it. We had the ball, turned it over and gave up a layup, turned it over on a jump ball and gave up another layup. We gotta understand how to finish people.”
Prep looked to be on its way to a comfortable win, leading 43-34 with six minutes to go, but Gibsland put up one last fight and outscored the Panthers 11-4 over the next four minutes to make it a 47-45 game with two minutes left. Stephen Burks twisted inside the lane for a crucial layup to put Prep ahead 49-46 with under 1:30 left. The Bulldogs would hit two free throws with under 45 seconds left to cut it to 49-48, forcing a timeout by Prep.
Amarje Young delivered a clutch layup with 30 seconds left to extend Prep’s lead to 51-48, only for Gibsland to hit two free throws to make it a 51-50 game with eight seconds left.
In the closing moments, Young made one of his two free throws to seal the game before Prep went down on the defensive end and got the stop it needed to win.
The Panthers forced 25 turnovers and took several charges by the end of the night to win their fifth game in a row.
Young led the Panthers with 18 points and four steals in the win, averaging over 10 points through his last four games.
“He’s really good,” Hudson said of Young. “He can impact the game in more ways than one. He’s a special type of talent.”
Stephen Burks III added 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Tre Spann had 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Devin Burton put eight points and 10 rebounds as well.
“Our two leading scorers didn’t play well and we still pulled out a victory over a good Gibsland team. That says something about our team,” Hudson said. “We still gotta buy in, buy in all the way, and understand certain aspects of the game and how to win in certain situations.”
