Wiggins nails game-winning 3-pointer, Bellarmine hangs on to beat Lincoln on road
With the shot clock winding down and the game tied with under 30 seconds to play at Lincoln High on Thursday night, Bellarmine Prep sophomore guard Ronnie Wiggins heaved a 3-point shot up between two Abes’ defenders.
Nothing but net.
Lincoln would score again to cut the lead to one, and there was late controversy — more on that in a moment — but Wiggins’ shot proved to be the game-winner in a thrilling 60-57 Bellarmine win, keeping the Lions alive in the 3A Puget Sound League Narrows division title hunt.
“My mind was kind of blank,” Wiggins said.
Wiggins attributed the clutch shot to early-morning workouts and practice reps.
“It didn’t surprise me because I’m waking up at 6 a.m.,” he said. “When it went in, I was hyped, but the work’s showing off. … Game on the line, I knew it was a close game. It’s time to shoot this.”
First-year Bellarmine coach Bobby Moorehead saw it a bit differently.
“It was a prayer, honestly,” Moorehead said, smiling. “Prayers work.”
Lincoln freshman Davion Shareef-Dulaney scored to cut the Bellarmine lead to one. After a five-second inbound call gave possession back to Lincoln, the Abes ran a play but missed the shot. Then guard O’Shea Lamar went in for a quick foul, and landed on the back of Bellarmine’s Kade Price, bringing both of them to the floor.
It was ruled an intentional foul, giving Bellarmine two free throws and possession again. Lincoln coach Ryan Rogers was in disbelief.
“Both teams were really competitive tonight,” he said after the game. “I thought it was a very physical game. Two guys going for the ball. I thought, just let the kids decide the game instead of making a crucial call there where it gives them two extra points. … But we can’t ever let the game get into the refs’ hands. We should have never let it get to that point.”
The game went back and forth, especially in an exciting fourth quarter. Shareef-Dulaney, just a freshman, wowed with acrobatic finishes around the rim and a stepback 3-pointer that almost felt unfair. He scored 18 in the loss. Lincoln sophomore guard Trey Collier added 12.
For Bellarmine, guard Kade Price led the Lions with 18. Junior forward Birk Johnston — also the football team’s quarterback — added 15 points, Wiggins had 12 and sharp-shooting guard J.J. Bordeaux added eight.
In terms of result, and maybe more important, effort and attitude, Thursday’s game was a far cry from the first meeting between the teams, which Lincoln led 22-4 after a quarter before winning 65-61.
“The first time around, we came out — I told the guys — like scared puppies,” Moorehead said. “The reality was, it wasn’t, I felt like, anything they did. It was just our demeanor. Our body language, the way we came out, we were defeated.”
Not this time around. Under Moorehead, Bellarmine (13-5 overall, 11-2 3A PSL) is playing hard, particularly on the defensive end. And Moorehead said Wiggins, the hero on Thursday night, is one of the best defenders in the state, in his view.
“Who cares about offense?” Wiggins said. “Defense is where you win games.”
Lincoln has three remaining league games and will look to bounce back against Mount Tahoma, Silas and Central Kitsap this month. At the heart of that charge will be Shareef-Dulaney, who is playing beyond his years.
“He’s a guy who wants to do whatever it takes,” Rogers said. “If that means getting his teammates involved, if that’s him stepping up and making a big play when we’re having trouble scoring a little bit, then he’s gonna do that. He makes some really big-time plays for us and does some big things for us.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2025 at 10:41 PM.
