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Public League Playoffs: Stewart guides Gratz back into title game

02/19/2020, 12:45am EST
By Kevin Callahan


Lynard Stewart (above) took Simon Gratz back to the Public League championship game. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Kevin Callahan (@CP_KCallahan)
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PHILADELPHIA – Although Lynard Stewart was animated and vocal early on Tuesday night, his Simon Gratz team had already known what this game meant to their soft-spoken, mild-mannered coach before tip-off.

“It meant the world to him,” Bulldogs guard Yasir Rowell said after leading all scorers with 19 points as Gratz stormed to a 70-39 win over Lincoln in the nightcap of the Public League semifinal doubleheader at a steamy South Philadelphia High gym.

Stewart was a star forward at Gratz, playing for legendary coach Bill Ellerbee, and playing alongside future NBA star Rasheed Wallace that finished 31-0 in 1993 and ranked No. 1 in the country.

The next year with Stewart, the Bulldogs won the Public League title and finished 27-1.

Now, in his fourth season as the head coach of his alma mater, he is taking Gratz back to the Pub Championship for the first time since sitting where Ellerbee once sat.

“It’s an amazing feeling, it’s really special for me,” Stewart said. “I didn’t know if I would be here this year. To come back and have a group of players to take us to the last game is an amazing feeling.”

In the first semi, Math, Civics and Sciences knocked off defending league champ Imhotep 75-65 in overtime and so the Bulldogs (21-4) and MCS (20-5) play in Saturday night’s title game at the Liacouras Center.

Gratz, which last won the Pub title in 2004, lost at home in OT to MCS during the regular season, but the Bulldogs were down a couple of players.

“I’m kind of glad it’s MCS, they are the ones who gave us our one loss,” Stewart said about their Public League defeat. “We weren’t at full strength, so I’m looking forward to that, and I think the seniors are looking forward to it too.

“It’s two teams who probably weren’t picked to be in the final [before the season], but we had a close game, losing by one in overtime so I’m looking forward to a great game.”

The 6-foot-7 Stewart was a great player as he starred for John Chaney at Temple and played 10 seasons professionally in Europe before deciding to coach.

“Yeah I know how good of a player he was,” said Rowell. “We go hard in practice, we want to wait for him.”

Stewart will still lace them up and run with his team.

“In practice we keep it high intensity day in and day out,” guard Edward Harris said. “He even competes with us at practice, too, and keeps us at a high intensity.”

The intensity wore down Lincoln by late in the first quarter as Gratz’s three-guard lineup of Rowell, Harris and Yasir Stover attacked the dribbler and converted turnovers into points.

“They’re relentless and amazing,” Stewart said. “If I was on the other team, I wouldn’t want to see three guards chasing me around and hounding me on the ball.

“And they are playing together on offense, they have been amazing all year and that’s why we are where we are.”

After a late tip-off due to the overtime in the first semifinal, Gratz started slow offensively, but opened up a double-digit spread on dunk by Ross Carter with a minute left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the three Gratz guards spread out Lincoln’s aggressive man defense and was able to penetrate the lane and dish for layups. Carter took a feed for a layup to pad Gratz’s lead to 29-9 with 3:40 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs ripped four more layups to finish the half, including three by Rowell, a 5-10 senior, to open a 37-11 lead at the half.

“They scored 11 points in the first half and it was all due to our guards,” Stewart said. “These guys have been amazing all year long, I don’t know where to get all that energy from.”

Stover, a 6-foot senior who came into the game averaging a team-high 17.5 points, finished with 12 points while Carter, 6-5 senior forward who averages 10.6 a game added 14.

“I call them the Dirty Dozen,” Stewart said, referring to the movie, about his team. “These guys have different personalities and they’re finally coming together. We have so many outside things, but on the court they come together.”

Lincoln (13-10) was paced in scoring by 6-foot-2 senior guard Shaquil Bender with 14 points, which was eight below his average facing the relentless pressure of the three Gratz guards.

“I actually asked the team before this game, I told them throughout the playoffs we haven’t played our best basketball,” Stewart said. “I told them you owe me and yourselves a good basketball game and they clocked in and did the right thing.”

Not only was Stewart coached by two of the all-time best in Chaney and Ellerbee, he has coaching in his blood as his older siblings Stephen and Larry are college assistant coaches at Delaware States and Maryland Eastern Shore respectively. Both played at Coppin State and Larry went on to star in the NBA.

“Coaches talk about having guards first,” Lynard Stewart said.  “We are blessed to have three of them.

“To start the season, I had to figure out how to play these guys and get the maximum effort,” Stewart said. “So I said, ‘let’s let them run around and do what they do.’ “

And it was one of the guards who ignited Gratz to start the second half when Stover hit a 3-pointer for a 29-point lead. Then, a 3-pointer by O’Ronde Ali expanded the lead to 49-19 with 3:30 left in the third quarter. Ali drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 58-26 lead after three quarters and set up a rematch with MCS.

“We weren’t at full strength,” Harris said about the first meeting, “I mean that’s not excuse, but it will be a game we’re all in.”

And, once again, Stewart will be dialed in from the opening tap. To win a Pub title as a player and a coach at the same school would certainly be special for him – and his players.

“It feels great,” Stover said. “I know all the years he’s been coaching he wanted to get there and finally he got the team that he needed.”

By Quarter:

Lincoln: 6 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 39

Gratz: 18 | 19 | 21 | 12 | 70

Scoring:

Lincoln: Shaquil Bender 14, Owens 2, Williamson 3, Idowa 2, Presley 2, Powell 7, Salha 5, Williams 4.

Gratz: Yasir Stover 12, Yasir Rowell 19, Ross Carter 14, O’Ronde Ali 8, Kyron Gordon 6, Duane Satchel 6, Abdulah 3, McCrae 2.


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