Harrison sparks Lincoln Prep to boys title

By Phil Ervin Special to the News-Press

High school basketball fans from the St. Joseph area that may not be as familiar with Kansas City’s Lincoln Prep squad, but certainly won’t forget the Blue Tigers any time soon.

Lincoln blazed through the Bishop LeBlond Holiday Tournament, providing the exclamation point with 60-45 victory against Mid-Buchanan, sparked by a 20-point fourth quarter.

“Every time we step on the floor, that’s what we expect,” Lincoln Prep coach Ron Robinson said. “We expect to win, no matter who the team is. We expect to exploit mismatches and take care of business.”

It wasn’t that Lincoln Prep dominated the undersized Dragons. Mid-Buchanan led by as many as eight in the first quarter and trailed by one at halftime.

“I’m as proud of these guys after a loss as I’ve ever been after a win,” said Mid-Buchanan coach Bryce Kemper. “They gave it everything they’ve got tonight. They didn’t come out intimidated and we played right with them.”

The game was still anybody’s in the third quarter despite Lincoln missing just one field goal the entire eight minutes.

But then, midway through the fourth, it was like Lincoln’s Maurte Harrison and friends flipped a switch.

“At times we weren’t playing our style of basketball,” Robinson said. “We just kind of settled down, buckled down on the defensive end, and took care of some things there.”

Trailing with three minutes left, Mid-Buchanan switched to a press on defense in hopes of trimming the deficit before it was too late. That allowed the speedy Tigers to find more fast break lanes.

Harrison, an NCAA Division I recruit, blew through the Dragons’ defense for three quick fourth-quarter layups in under a minute, putting Lincoln up by 14 after Mid-Buch had kept it within two possessions the entire second half until that point.

Harrison, named the tournament MVP, finished with 30 points.

“The team came together and started playing good defense,” Harrison said. “We just got out and did what we do best, getting points in transition.”

For the second straight contest, the Tigers’ opponent hung around until Harrison went off.

East Buchanan had kept it close for a half in its semifinal loss to Lincoln, and Kemper said the Dragons tried a similar approach in slowing down their opponent’s up-tempo, fast-break offense.

“We wanted to kind of slow them down, but at the same time we wanted to play our game and attack,” said Mid-Buch’s nine-year head coach. “If we were going to go out, we were going to go out playing the basketball that we play.”

Both coaches said their teams should be able to build momentum from this game once the second half of the season starts.

For Mid-Buchanan, there are plenty of positives to be gleaned from playing such tough competition.

The Tigers returns to Kansas City where wins may not come as easily. Despite boasting five players that are 6-foot-2 or taller on his roster, Robinson said Lincoln is one of the smaller teams in the Interscholastic League.

But with first-place trophy in hand, this team could do some big things, according to Harrison. Which is why fans that had an opportunity to see Lincoln play in this tournament may not soon forget the high-flying Blue Tigers.

“We’re a state (tournament) team,” Harrison said. “We should win state, with all the pieces that we’ve got. We’ve just got to put it together.”

Phil Ervin can be reached at npsports@newspressnow.com.