Lincoln boys rally late to slip by Foss, 56-54

Recounting Trevion Brown’s game-winning shot gave Lincoln High School basketball coach Aubrey Shelton a chill.

Tied with Foss at 54-54 with 12.4 seconds to play Friday night, Brown glided into the lane between two defenders to flip up Lincoln’s final two points.

“What can you say about Tre Brown?,” Shelton said. “He’s just our leader, he’s our captain. Proves why he’s one of the best guys in this entire area. Finishes the game-winning shot with a lefty scoop.”

And the Abes stampeded off the floor with the win — again. This time in regulation on Foss’ home court, 56-54.

Brown led all scorers with 21 points — 13 in the second half — to help Lincoln rally from its first halftime deficit this season. The Abes shot 9 of 27 to trail 28-21 at the break.

“We were just forcing the very first shot we could,” Shelton said. “Instead of getting multiple attacks and moving the ball and sharing the ball, we were driving in and throwing up tough ones.”

The Falcons capitalized early, and led from the two-minute mark in the first quarter to carry the largest lead of the game — nine points — into the half.

“They didn’t really get in a rhythm in the first half — credit to our guys for defending and doing a good job — but second half, they hit a rhythm offensively,” Foss coach Mike Cocke said.

“We didn’t guard as well as we needed to down the stretch, and we had a couple plays where we needed some stops and didn’t get them. And that’s what happens, you lose.”

Roberto Gittens scored eight of his 13 points within two minutes, 35 seconds in the third quarter to keep the Falcons in the lead — including two trips down the floor where he slammed the ball through the hoop.

Demetrius Crosby also had 13 points for Foss.

But Lincoln kept it close enough. The Abes held Foss to four buckets in the fourth quarter, and hit 12 of 19 free throws down the stretch after the Falcons ran into foul trouble. Lincoln was in the double-bonus from the four minute, 52-second mark.

“We just kept the grit,” Brown said. “Kept pushing no matter what adversity was hitting us, we just kept pushing.”

Until Brown took it upon himself to net the game-winner.

“It’s kind of like a blur,” he said. “It happened really fast. We came down, I got the ball, they spread and I just took advantage of the spread. And did my best to score.”

Just like he did when the Abes handed Foss a double-overtime loss a month ago.

“We’re getting better, but we’re not where we need to be yet defensively,” Cocke said. “We’ve struggled to win some big games this year.”

Crosby stole a Lincoln in-bounds pass with 2.7 seconds to play, but his contested 3-pointer from the corner barely nicked the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

“It’s always this way,” Cocke said. “Foss-Lincoln is always the last possession. It doesn’t matter what year it is, what team it is, if they’re good, if we’re good. It’s always a battle.”

The matchup may have been the last league game the two programs will ever play against each other. Foss will reclassify to 2A next season and join the 2A South Puget Sound League.

Lincoln’s fate is still pending. The school — along with Mount Tahoma, Wilson and Stadium — will appeal to the West Central District on Wednesday to join the 3A SPSL after initially being denied.

The Abes (12-2, 9-0 3A Narrows) remain undefeated atop the league with the win. Foss (10-6, 7-3) remains in third behind Wilson.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 10:38 PM with the headline "Lincoln boys rally late to slip by Foss, 56-54."