2024 WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball championship breakdown: Lincoln Park vs. Hampton
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Thursday, February 29, 2024 | 3:12 AM
Lincolin Park’s Brandin Cummings celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer against North Catholic on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, in Cranberry.
Hampton’s Peter Kramer shoots over Highlands’ Jordyn Tavarez during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, at Hampton.
Lincoln Park’s Meleek Thomas dunks against Ambridge on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Midland.
Hampton’s Liam Mignogna plays against Highlands on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, at Hampton.
WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball championship
No. 1 Lincoln Park vs. No. 2 Hampton
9 p.m. Thursday at Petersen Events Center
On the air: Audio broadcast: TribLive HSSN; Video livestream: NFHS Network
WPIAL titles: Lincoln Park 6 (2012, ’14, ’18, ’19, ’21, ’23), Hampton 1 (2009)
Lincoln Park (22-3)
Coach: Mike Bariski
Probable starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos.
1, Rhaki Lum, 6-2, jr., G
3, Brandin Cummings, 6-4, sr., G
4, Mikey Crawford, 6-3, sr., G
5, Meleek Thomas, 6-4, jr., G
21, Dorian McGhee, 6-2, sr., F
How they got here: Lincoln Park defeated No. 16 Freeport, 93-63, in the first round; No. 8 Knoch, 81-58, in the quarterfinals; and No. 4 Uniontown, 74-63, in the semifinals.
Notable: Lincoln Park has a top scoring tandem in senior Pitt recruit Brandin Cummings and junior Meleek Thomas, who ESPN ranks as the fifth-best college prospect in the 2025 class. Cummings was a 22-point scorer in the regular season and Thomas averaged 21. Thomas has college offers from Kentucky, Duke and a number of other Division I teams. Mikey Crawford (Buffalo) and Dorian McGhee (Cal, Pa.) are both college football recruits. Rhaki Lum is a newcomer this season who transferred from a school in Delaware. Lincoln Park averages 80 points per game, best among all WPIAL teams.
Hampton (22-3)
Coach: Joe Lafko
Probable starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos.
2, Alex Nyilas, 6-0, sr., G
4, A.J. Prodente, 6-0, sr., G
20, Liam Mignogna, 6-9, sr., F
24, Peter Kramer, 6-5, sr., G
33, Robert Coll, 6-2, sr., G/F
How they got here: Hampton defeated No. 15 Central Valley, 66-55, in the first round; No. 7 South Allegheny, 69-40, in the quarterfinals; and No. 6 Avonworth, 61-39, in the semifinals.
Notable: Hampton is making its eighth appearance in the WPIAL finals. The Talbots won a title in 2009 and were runners-up in 2006, ’10, ’12, ’13, ’14 and ’17. Hampton owns the stingiest defense in WPIAL 4A allowing 45.6 points per game. Peter Kramer is a Lehigh recruit who averages 24 points. This is Kramer’s second appearance in the WPIAL finals, having won a Class 3A title with Shady Side Academy in 2022. PIAA rules forced Kramer to sit out last year’s playoffs after transferring back to Hampton. Coach Joe Lafko, a three-sport standout at Frazier, was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2015 and has more than 500 career wins.
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Hampton, Lincoln Park
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