Stadium wins Round 1 against Lincoln in showdown of 3A PCL boys basketball favorites
TACOMA, Wash. - When it comes to clutch shot-making, Stadium High School point guard Baaroc Rivers loves to study the old-school rewind classics of the NBA.
"I watch a lot of Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson," Rivers said. "I try and imitate them a little bit when I get in the air and shoot."
Rivers' go-ahead jumper with 49 seconds broke a tie, and he added a free throw in the final seconds as the Tigers held off sixth-ranked Lincoln of Tacoma, 59-56, in an early-January matchup of the 3A PCL favorites.
After Rivers' free throw, the Abes set up one final play with 3.1 seconds remaining, but La'Vhante Sandling-Green's game-tying 3-point attempt was too strong, and Stadium prevailed in its own gymnasium.
Stadium coach Dominic Batten applauded his team down the stretch after trailing by as many as nine points in the first half.
"We have a more experienced group," Batten said. "We were young last year when those moments were a little bit too much. This year, I think we will embrace it."
After Sandling-Green's three-point play tied it at 56-56 with 1:04 to go, Rivers picked his spot to attack, pulling up and knocking down a mid-range jumper for what proved to be the game-winner.
"He is crafty," Batten said. "He will do some stuff on the court where I am like, ‘Wow!’ He is very shifty."
Lincoln had two untimely turnovers in the final minute.
In the first half, the Abes took advantage of their size mismatch with Omarion Boston (team high 15 points), Dairius Dillard (12 points) and ninth grader Noah Dennis (four points) to grab a 27-18 lead with four minutes remaining in the first half.
Rivers and Donovan Gill led Stadium with 13 points apiece. The Tigers did knock down eight 3-pointers in the game.
