Bellarmine Prep stakes claim as Tacoma’s best with sweep of Lincoln Abes
Was it the 15-2 run to open the game? The 17-4 lead after the first quarter? The 44 total points Bellarmine Prep held Lincoln’s offense to in Wednesday night’s 3A Puget Sound League matchup?
Pick a number, pick a stat — they all tell the same story. Bellarmine won the game convincingly, beating visiting Lincoln 54-44 in a game that never felt that close.
“I think it shows we can beat anybody,” said Bellarmine guard Kade Price, who scored a game-high 17 points. “I think we’ve got the best team in Washington, 3A wise.”
That’ll be settled in the Tacoma Dome in early March, but what isn’t up for debate: second-year coach Bobby Moorehead has the best team in Tacoma this winter.
Bellarmine moved to 16-2 with the win, earning the season sweep over Lincoln. Bellarmine is undefeated in league plays and hasn’t lost since early December, when the Lions dropped a pair of games in Spokane to Mount Spokane and Gonzaga Prep.
“Feels good,” Moorehead said. “We’re a more confident group right now than we were last year. (Lincoln) was a big hurdle for us last year. … So it feels really good to do that. We still have more work to do. We’ve got a good group that can compete.”
Bellarmine rode a balanced scoring effort to the win. Price led with 17, junior guard Ronnie Wiggins scored 16 and 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Luke Heisel added 10. Heisel was equally effective on the defensive end, particularly on his assignment against Lincoln sophomore forward Justus Holt, who was held to just four points.
“I thought Ben and Ronnie’s effort defensively was really good,” Moorehead said. “That’s really all defense is, is effort. If you have five guys giving max effort and being in the right spots, it’s gonna work itself out. Our effort was right.”
Price echoed his coach’s sentiment.
“Just contesting every shot is what we kind of stick to,” he said. “I think we did a good job today doing that.”
Bellarmine held Lincoln star sophomore guard Davion Shareef-Dulaney in check with 14 points. Lincoln forward Kasey Williams added 13 for the Abes.
Moorehead said he’d still like to see better shot selection on the offensive end, but he’s pleased with the development of Wiggins, who was a lockdown defender last year. This season, he has taken his offensive game to the next level.
“It’s hard for me to imagine a guy that works out and gets more shots than Ronnie,” Moorehead said. “The guy’s at the YMCA too much, to a fault. We’re like, ‘Hey dude, you gotta get some rest.’ He’s got that intrinsic motivation. A lot of guys need to be pushed, but he wants to get better. I don’t know where that comes from, he’s got something inside.”
Bellarmine Prep hits the road to face Gig Harbor on Friday, then closes the regular season with home games against Mount Tahoma and Silas next week.
Lincoln faces Mount Tahoma on Friday before home games against Silas and Central Kitsap next week.
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 6:30 AM.
