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PIAA Class 3A & 6A: Lincoln, Future pick up two state wins for the Pub

03/08/2020, 11:45am EDT
By Carter Fillman


Shaquille Bender (above) hit the game-winning free throws as Lincoln escaped Bensalem. (Photo: Carter Fillman/CoBL)

Carter Fillman (@JC_Fillman)
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For the Lincoln Railsplitters, it has been an up and down season. As coach Jamel Lindsey put it, “We’ve got such a high roof, we can play with anybody, but at the same time we can lose to anybody.” 

And at some moments in a PIAA Class 6A first-round matchup with Bensalem, it was hard for an onlooker to convince themselves that Lincoln could walk away with this one. After consecutive turnovers in a late tied game, Bensalem looked to have a chance to take home a victory at South Philadelphia High School.

That was, until Lincoln senior guard Shaquil Bender and Lincoln’s full court pressure paid off once again, as the first team all-Pub selection stepped in front of an errant Bensalem inbounds pass and gathered his fourth steal of the game with just under 15 seconds remaining. 

Bender quickly drove to the hoop, drew the foul, and sunk two free throws which gave the Railsplitters a 50-48 lead, the final points of the evening after Bensalem couldn’t get a buzzer-beater to fall.

“I saw the person inbounding the ball was stumbling and he had to throw it,” Bender said. “And I saw there was only two people coming to the ball, so I denied my man and he threw it straight to me.”

Hampered by a wrist injury suffered in practice the day before, Bender was struggling from the line, shooting 4-of-11 prior to the steal. But there was no problem for his final two, as the senior stepped to the line and sunk two no-doubters. 

“When I was missing, I knew I just had to keep shooting,” he said.

Lincoln locked up on Bensalem’s final frantic possession as the Owls struggled to get a clean look off. Junior forward Sahmir Williamson corralled his tenth rebound to put this one away for the Railsplitters. 

Despite an inconsistent season which saw Lincoln finish with a 7-5 record in the Public League ‘A’ division before falling to Simon Gratz in a Pub semi-final match up, Lindsey and his group of hard nosed players were hoping to find an ounce of consistency in the state tournament. 

“Those dudes will run through a wall for me, but sometimes I don’t need them to run through a wall, just wait behind the wall, they’ll come back,” he said. “You see the intensity, just slow down and take it in a little more.”

In a back and forth affair, Lincoln jumped out to a five-point lead in the final frame before a huge Jeremiah Alexander baseline slam followed by an Aaron Sanders 3-point play brought Bensalem back to a tie game at 48 all. The Railsplitters dug in on the defensive end, not letting up any more Bensalem baskets for the remainder of the game.

“I'm thinking we need stops and we need buckets,” Bender said. “I'm trying to leave it all out there on the floor, I'm just trying to win.” 

Bender netted six of his game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. These proved to be crucial points in a relatively low-scoring game. Bender also added nine boards (six offensive) and five steals in an all around terrific performance. 

“Shaquille Bender in my opinion is one of the best guards in the state, hands-down, talent-wise,” Lindsey said. “But he was such a late bloomer, he’s like Captain Marvel, he doesn’t understand his own super powers yet. When he puts it all together, it’s gonna to be ridiculous, but his impact on the game is always evident, he’s ridiculous.”

Bensalem held a 28-26 lead at the half despite being without springy senior wing Jeremiah Alexander who sat most of the half in foul trouble. But foul trouble was the theme of the first half, as both teams had to dig deep into their bench searching for some consistent play. Bender, the senior leader he tries to be, credited the depth for keeping this one close, “They held it down. They didn’t let it get too out of control, they kept fighting for me.”

As the sun sets on a historic Bensalem season, Lincoln will look ahead to play District 1 champion Methacton in the second round. The Railsplitters will look to bring their intense defensive pressure to an extremely disciplined Warriors. Lindsey hopes his team can stay more organized in their bout against the PAC Champs, something he wasn’t satisfied with in their opening-round victory, 

“I feel like, outside of city ball, if we play the suburban ball or Catholic style of play, they’ll kill us. They’ll methodically kill us, we’ll get less possessions, they’ll take smarter shots. Where my boys tend to rely on their talent more so than the team concept. I’m trying to get them out of that, but you know, it’s hard to rewire them after fifteen years.”

By Quarter

LHS: 16 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 50

BHS: 11 | 17 | 10 | 10| 48

Shooting

Lincoln:18-50 FG, 3-12 3PT, 11-28 FT

Bensalem: 15- 57 FG, 1-12 3PT, 17-26 FT

Scoring

Lincoln: Bender 16, Williamson 7, Jakeman 6, Pressley 5, Powell 5, Owens 4, Salha 3, Idowa 2, Williams 2

Bensalem: Ashford 16, Sanders 13, Johnson 7, Alexander 6, Robinson 5, Moddela 1

~~~

When you talk to High School of the Future basketball coach Stan Jones, you can see the excitement in his eyes and hear the pride in his voice when discussing the Firebirds season. After all, it’s been a year of firsts for the second year head coach and his program. Allow Jones to rattle off the list himself:

“First time in Future history that we won the division. It’s the first time in Future history (we weren’t) in either Division E or D. We went to the C division and won it. First time getting to the District 12 3A title game against Neumann last week. This has been a season of firsts, we’re trying to keep it going, we want it to be the first time we win the whole thing.”

You can add another first to the list as the Firebirds have advanced past the first round for the first time in school history with a 71-46 thumping of District 3’s Columbia High School. 

Led by the fiery play of 5-foot-8 junior guard Themere Simmons (11 points/9 boards/7 assists/7 steals) and knockdown shooting from 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Yasir Muhammad (21 points/5 threes), the team without a single senior accomplished a feat done by none other before them. 

“We kind of took the city over by surprise,” explained Simmons “You know, a young team full of juniors and sophomores, and only got two freshman[…]this is all new to us and we just fight hard and get the job done.”

“We came from nothing, really,” added Muhammad. “A lot of people didn’t really know about us until this year.”

After trailing 15-10 after a quarter of play, Future implemented a full court press and caused a flurry of turnovers before they took a 31-22 lead into the half, one which they did not look back from. 

Looking ahead, Future will match up against District 11 one seed Panther Valley, a 61-40 victor over District 12 five seed Dobbins Tech. For a young program, Jones will rely on his starters, but will always be looking for that extra spark off the bench, “I know what I’m going to get from my main guys[…]as long as we have someone constantly stepping in, we’re gonna be fine.” 

By Quarter

Future:     10 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 71

Columbia:  15 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 46

Shooting

Future: 27-59 FG, 8-18 3PT, 9-18 FT

Columbia: 17-51 FG, 4-17 3PT, 8-18 FT

Scoring

Future: Muhammad 21, Brown 13, Simmons 11, Boswell 10, Diallo 7, Lee 7, Cain 2

Columbia: Cruz 12, Glover 10, Smith 6, Redding 5, McCleary 5, Poole Jr. 2, Footman Jr. 2, Gambler 2, Moreta 2


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