‘Why not us?' Lincoln freshmen shine in 3A state opening-round win over Federal Way
It won't show up on the stat sheet in the points category, but Lincoln freshman forward Justus Holt delivered an MVP-caliber performance in Lincoln's opening-round 53-48 win over Federal Way in the Class 3A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday evening.
His line: five points, five rebounds, four blocked shots and a steal. Beyond that, who knows how many altered Federal Way shots in the paint defensively. Perhaps above all else, Holt just had a presence. Nothing easy was going to come at the rim against him or the Abes.
'Huge,' Lincoln coach Ryan Rogers said of his freshman's performance. 'And that's what we try to preach to the kids, because kids get so caught up on getting buckets and scoring. There's so many other ways you can impact the game.'
Not a bad Tacoma Dome debut for Lincoln's freshman, and it's scary to think where Holt could be in a few years' time if he continues on his current trajectory.
'I feel great right now,' Holt said. 'The intensity going up every time.'
Lincoln trailed against Federal Way a couple weeks ago in the bidistrict tournament semifinals before mounting a late comeback and stealing a win. This time around, Lincoln led most of the game. The lesson learned from the first meeting was to play freely.
'Don't get in our heads,' Holt said. 'Just have confidence when we shoot and play defense.'
Freshman guard Davion Shareef-Dulaney scored 11, sophomore guard Trey Collier and junior forward Kasey Williams added 10 apiece and the team's leading scorer came off the bench: sophomore guard Uriah Wilson, who made four of his five 3-point attempts, including a clutch three in the fourth quarter.
'Be ready for your opportunity,' Rogers said. 'O'Shea (Lamar) got two quick fouls so we needed somebody to step up. Uriah came first with his defense and that just gives you that confidence to let it fly when you get those open opportunities.'
Federal Way guard Brayden McVey scored a game-high 20 points, but Federal Way struggled offensively as a team, shooting just 32.2 percent from the field and going 0-for-11 from beyond the arc.
Still, the Eagles cut the Abes' lead to two points with under a minute to play, but Shareef-Dulaney iced the game late with a pair of free throws.
Lincoln features two juniors and no seniors on its roster, one of the state's youngest top teams. But the Abes aren't hoping to build for the future; Lincoln wants to win it all now, this weekend.
'We got that dawg in us,' Holt said. 'We can't be scared of no one.'
Edmonds-Woodway awaits in the 3A quarterfinals on Thursday at the Tacoma Dome.
'I think there's a lot of people who are counting us out, a lot of people saying 'In a couple years,' but we want to make sure we make our statement now,' Rogers said. 'Why not us?'
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