High school basketball: Five-star sophomore Meleek Thomas sinks game-winner to upset No. 20 Neumann-Goretti in Pennsylvania 4A finals

By Jordan Divens Mar 23, 2023, 7:30pm

Floater with 11 seconds remaining caps 22-point night in 62-58 Lincoln Park Performing Arts victory.

Five-star sophomore Meleek Thomas knocked down a game-winning free-throw line floater with 11 seconds remaining to propel Lincoln Park Performing Arts (Midland) to a 62-58 upset victory over No. 20 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) on Thursday in the PIAA Class 4A state title game at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.

Thomas led the way with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals on 9-of-22 from the field in the victory, while three-star Pittsburgh commit Brandin Cummings contributed a team-high 25 points on 7-of-15 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

Neumann-Goretti (26-4) had multiple good looks at potential game-tying baskets in the final seconds before Cummings secured the game-clinching rebounds and knocked down a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining.

The closely contested championship game saw 13 lead changes and 11 ties, while both teams saw their biggest lead grow to seven points.



Neumann-Goretti went ahead 15-14 at the end of the first quarter before the game was tied 28-28 at the half. Lincoln Park Performing Arts (31-1) surged ahead 44-41 at the end of the third quarter before pulling out the four-point victory.

The loss marks the first state title game defeat for Neumann-Goretti — which was 9-0 in previous championship games.

Four-star Baylor commit Robert Wright III finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting in the loss for the Saints.