Halftime: Lincoln Park 27-20
Summary: Floyd Campbell’s layup off of an Esteban Vega assist with three seconds left proved to be the game-winner for Von Steuben. Lincoln Park’s Mike Gabriel then took a long inbounds pass from Mike Henley but missed his shot at the buzzer, as Von Steuben eliminated Lincoln Park in the second round of the Public League playoffs for the second straight year. The Lions had taken a 52-51 lead with :12 to play on a pair of free throws by senior guard Cory Proctor. Lincoln Park led 27-20 at halftime behind Proctor, who had 13 of his game-high 25 points in the opening two quarters. The Lions were in front 41-34 early in the fourth, but Vega hit three consecutive baskets to start a 16-6 run for a 50-47 Von Steuben advantage with 1:53 to play. The Panthers heated up in the fourth quarter, making 8 of 9 shots from the field. A steal and layup by the Lions DeMarko Nash tied it at 50-50 with :56 left.
Top performers: Von Steuben–Vega 14 points; Campbell 9 points. Lincoln Park–Proctor 25 points, 3 steals.
The bonus: “All I was thinking was I had to make up for what I did,” said Campbell of his winning shot. “I made a dumb pass, almost cost us the game. I wasn’t making rebounds. I had to redeem myself. When I caught that ball, I knew I had one chance, use both hands, and it went in. We needed this win. We needed to show people that we’re not weak. We needed to show people that we can win big games.”