HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) - Sophomore standout Maverick Rowan scored 37 points and WPIAL champ Lincoln Park capped its 30-1 season with a 70-66 victory over District 1 champ Math, Civics & Science Charter in the PIAA-A boys’ state championship game Friday afternoon in the Giant Center.
Lincoln Park, which won its 24th game in a row, lost in its previous two trips to PIAA championship games. Against MC&S, the Leopards overcame the Mighty Elephants’ 13-0 third-quarter run and a double-digit deficit, taking the lead for good, 61-59, with 2:37 to go in regulation when Rowan, a 6-7 shooting guard, made both ends of a 1-and-1.
“We just had to keep our heads in there and stay positive,” Rowan said of Lincoln Park’s rally from 16 points down. “We were finally able to make a couple of plays and get the momentum and we took it from there. There was no panic at all. It was business as usual. This is a great feeling.”
This was a rematch of the 2011 state-championship game, won by MC&S 70-55 in Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center. Lincoln Park also fell to Constitution in the 2012 state final, by a 58-49 score, at Penn State.
Senior 6-7 guard Ryan Skovranko added 10 points for Lincoln Park, which closed the game on a 19-9 run and snapped MC&S’s four-game winning streak. MC&S entered the PIAA playoffs with a losing record, before ripping off victories against Delco Christian, Sullivan County, Church Farm and previously undefeated St. John Neumann in the state semifinals.
MC&S finished its season 15-15 overall; Samir Doughty scored 26 points and Mike Watkins, a junior Penn State commit, had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Mighty Elephants, who out-rebounded Lincoln Park 47-32, but couldn’t overcome 18 turnovers.
“I have to give my kids all the credit in the world,” Lincoln Park coach Mark Javens said. “They never quit and they showed a lot of composure. I couldn’t be more pleased. No matter what classification, to win any championship is very difficult. It’s a great win for us.”
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