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Lincoln and Lance set for another Garden party
By Zachary Braziller March 15, 2009
Lincoln guard Codion Becker celebrates the victory with a teammate.
With the game well in hand Lance Stephenson jogged over to the motionless ball, listened to the large Carnesecca Arena crowd egging him on and took off.
His tongue wagging, he leapt high in the air, brought the ball down to his stomach before raising it above the cylinder and emphatically throwing down the windmill dunk.
Stephenson said he wanted that final two to show St. John’s coach Norm Roberts and Kansas assistant Danny Manning, both in attendance, what he was capable of. Devante Cutler, the Boys & Girls point guard who has faced Stephenson eight other times, thought differently.
“He let us know he owns us,” Cutler said.
Whatever the reasoning for the unnecessary slam with five seconds left, it only added to top-seeded Lincoln’s hard-fought 76-64 victory over the No. 4 Kangaroos. The impressive show of athleticism and force served as a poignant point of reference to yet another brilliant fourth quarter performance under duress by Stephenson and the Railplitters.
The senior showstopper scored 11 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, including nine in the final 4:00 when the Coney Island dynamo out-scored The High, 17-5.
“That’s what superstars do,” Lincoln coach Dwayne (Tiny) Morton said of Stephenson, who also had 13 rebounds. “You can’t coach that.”
Morton emphasized the role players, too, if not more so. There was James Padgett continuing to impress, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Darwin (Buddha) Ellis, despite a cold shooting effort, ran the point efficiently. He had 11 points and nine assists. There were also important contributions from Shaquille Stokes, who hit four free throws in the final stanza, and power forward Davon Walls on the glass.
“It’s part of (our) success,” Morton said.
Perhaps even more important was Lincoln’s defense on Kangaroos’ sophomore Mike Taylor. The sharpshooter had averaged 16.5 points in two regular-season meetings, including a 19-point effort in a Boys win Jan. 6. The goal was to shut him down, no matter how many opening it created for others. Lincoln bodied him around every screen and limited his touches.
It certainly worked. Taylor went scoreless, badly missing a few open jumpshots. Boys coach Ruth Lovelace downplayed the Railplitters’ defensive game plan. Taylor has been keyed on before, and he has rebounded.
“They didn’t do anything different,” Lovelace maintained. “I just thought Mike rushed shots. He didn’t shoot with confidence.”
Even without Taylor’s usual consistent perimeter game, the Kangaroos made a valiant run despite trailing by 17 points, 51-34, late in the third quarter. Ignited by the play of Cutler (eight assists) at the point and seniors Anton Dickerson (26 points) and Lamount Samuell Jr. (16 points) on the wings, The High (21-9) put together a 20-5 run. Dickerson tied the score at 59 with 4:00 to go after knocking down his sixth 3-pointer.
“I thought we had them,” Cutler said. “I thought this was the year we were going to do it.”
Lincoln (21-10), however, scored six straight points on two Ellis free throws, a Padgett basket and two Stokes free throws. Samuell slowed the Railsplitters’ momentum for the time being with a basket, only for Stephenson to drop in a reverse followed for a 3-point play. The lead was back up to nine, 70-61. The frustration was starting to settle in. Boys would lose to Lincoln again.
“They’ve been blessed to have the best player (in New York City) and a great supporting cast,” Lovelace said.
Stephenson, furthermore, feeds off challenges, After beating Transit Tech in the ‘A’ quarterfinals – a game Lincoln surprisingly trailed for much of the middle quarters – he told reporters he doesn’t get nervous and enjoyed the tense fourth quarter.
With a packed house on Sunday, he brought a flair for the dramatic. The 6-foot-5 swingman stuck his tongue out at a trailing Kangaroos defender on an early breakaway dunk. Later, Stephenson held his follow through after knocking down a pull-up jumper. And then there was the final slam.
“He was trying to make a statement that Lincoln is best,” said Padgett, the Maryland-bound power forward.
There should be more histrionics on the way Saturday, when Lincoln meets John. F. Kennedy. Stephenson will gunning for his fourth consecutive city crown, a feat no player has ever accomplished.
“It means a lot,” Stephenson said. “It means history. I don’t think anybody will ever get that record again.”
zbraziller@fiveborosports.com
His tongue wagging, he leapt high in the air, brought the ball down to his stomach before raising it above the cylinder and emphatically throwing down the windmill dunk.
Stephenson said he wanted that final two to show St. John’s coach Norm Roberts and Kansas assistant Danny Manning, both in attendance, what he was capable of. Devante Cutler, the Boys & Girls point guard who has faced Stephenson eight other times, thought differently.
“He let us know he owns us,” Cutler said.
Whatever the reasoning for the unnecessary slam with five seconds left, it only added to top-seeded Lincoln’s hard-fought 76-64 victory over the No. 4 Kangaroos. The impressive show of athleticism and force served as a poignant point of reference to yet another brilliant fourth quarter performance under duress by Stephenson and the Railplitters.
The senior showstopper scored 11 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, including nine in the final 4:00 when the Coney Island dynamo out-scored The High, 17-5.
“That’s what superstars do,” Lincoln coach Dwayne (Tiny) Morton said of Stephenson, who also had 13 rebounds. “You can’t coach that.”
Morton emphasized the role players, too, if not more so. There was James Padgett continuing to impress, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Darwin (Buddha) Ellis, despite a cold shooting effort, ran the point efficiently. He had 11 points and nine assists. There were also important contributions from Shaquille Stokes, who hit four free throws in the final stanza, and power forward Davon Walls on the glass.
“It’s part of (our) success,” Morton said.
Perhaps even more important was Lincoln’s defense on Kangaroos’ sophomore Mike Taylor. The sharpshooter had averaged 16.5 points in two regular-season meetings, including a 19-point effort in a Boys win Jan. 6. The goal was to shut him down, no matter how many opening it created for others. Lincoln bodied him around every screen and limited his touches.
It certainly worked. Taylor went scoreless, badly missing a few open jumpshots. Boys coach Ruth Lovelace downplayed the Railplitters’ defensive game plan. Taylor has been keyed on before, and he has rebounded.
“They didn’t do anything different,” Lovelace maintained. “I just thought Mike rushed shots. He didn’t shoot with confidence.”
Even without Taylor’s usual consistent perimeter game, the Kangaroos made a valiant run despite trailing by 17 points, 51-34, late in the third quarter. Ignited by the play of Cutler (eight assists) at the point and seniors Anton Dickerson (26 points) and Lamount Samuell Jr. (16 points) on the wings, The High (21-9) put together a 20-5 run. Dickerson tied the score at 59 with 4:00 to go after knocking down his sixth 3-pointer.
“I thought we had them,” Cutler said. “I thought this was the year we were going to do it.”
Lincoln (21-10), however, scored six straight points on two Ellis free throws, a Padgett basket and two Stokes free throws. Samuell slowed the Railsplitters’ momentum for the time being with a basket, only for Stephenson to drop in a reverse followed for a 3-point play. The lead was back up to nine, 70-61. The frustration was starting to settle in. Boys would lose to Lincoln again.
“They’ve been blessed to have the best player (in New York City) and a great supporting cast,” Lovelace said.
Stephenson, furthermore, feeds off challenges, After beating Transit Tech in the ‘A’ quarterfinals – a game Lincoln surprisingly trailed for much of the middle quarters – he told reporters he doesn’t get nervous and enjoyed the tense fourth quarter.
With a packed house on Sunday, he brought a flair for the dramatic. The 6-foot-5 swingman stuck his tongue out at a trailing Kangaroos defender on an early breakaway dunk. Later, Stephenson held his follow through after knocking down a pull-up jumper. And then there was the final slam.
“He was trying to make a statement that Lincoln is best,” said Padgett, the Maryland-bound power forward.
There should be more histrionics on the way Saturday, when Lincoln meets John. F. Kennedy. Stephenson will gunning for his fourth consecutive city crown, a feat no player has ever accomplished.
“It means a lot,” Stephenson said. “It means history. I don’t think anybody will ever get that record again.”
zbraziller@fiveborosports.com