Corbett, Lincoln send a stern message in ousting Upper Darby
PHILADELPHIA >> Just in case his play didn’t deliver the gist of it, Tyree Corbett had one more message to share Saturday afternoon at South Philadelphia High.
Corbett and his Lincoln teammates had heard the rationalizations explaining away last week’s District 12 championship game win over Roman Catholic, the Catholic League champ. He’d gathered whispers about luck, about a Roman hangover following a last-second win in a tense Catholic League finale, about how a city Class 6A title wasn’t all that important and maybe even fluky.
The Rail Splitters heard all of it. And in response, Corbett and company delivered a stirring testimonial.
The final margin showed a 67-46 win over Upper Darby in the opener of the PIAA Class 6A tournament. But a game where the margin crept to 37 points early in the fourth quarter wasn’t nearly that close, and Corbett made sure that was known.
“We came out here knowing we were going to blow them out,” Corbett said. “We sent a message that there’s no luck. Any person or any time you come out and play basketball, we play like it’s their last, and that’s what we did today. We’re going to play every game like it’s their last. We’re going to play hard and show everybody that we can’t be beat and we can beat every team and Roman wasn’t just luck.”
Shikier Morrison cans a 3. After 1, Lincoln 24, Upper Darby 11 pic.twitter.com/Vx7cxOZEpI
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) March 10, 2018
Corbett was the main impetus, with 16 points and 14 rebounds, alleviating any need to play beyond the midway point of the third quarter. The midseason transfer from Frankford had 12 and 12 at half, fueling a gargantuan advantage of 65-24 on the boards for Lincoln.
The rebounding margin stood at 36-9 in the opening half, at which point Lincoln led the eighth seed out of District 1, 43-16.
“We just came out aggressive every game,” said Corbett. “So when we come out aggressive and you’re hitting people and you’re boxing out and you’re grabbing rebounds, they don’t want to go down there anymore. They don’t want to get hit. They don’t want to be touched any more. So when you’re boxing out and grabbing rebounds, it kind of exes them out of the game.”
“It’s a challenge,” Upper Darby guard Magd Abdelwahab said. “We tried to get all five guys in there rebounding, helping out. They were just killing us on the board.”
Lincoln (22-6) just kept throwing long bodies at the Royals (17-11). Starting forward Aseem Lucky grabbed eight boards and blocked two shots. Pat Obogo came off the bench to corral eight rebounds. And that was before 7-1 center Pedro Matos left the bench.
Shikier Morrison added five rebounds to go with 21 points, and Khalif Mears chipped in 10 points. Nine players scored for Lincoln, which advances to take on Hempfield, the District 3 third seed that ousted Coatesville 66-53 Saturday .
The threat of one-and-done possessions suppressed any offensive flow and creativity for Upper Darby, which closes an otherwise successful season on a four-game losing streak. The prospect of seeing the ball monopolized in the defensive end for three or four shot attempts to just one for the Royals had a demoralizing impact on shot selection, contributing to a 15-for-54 day (27.8 percent) day from the field that created misses aplenty for Lincoln to gobble up and restart the pernicious cycle. The 9-for-21 day at the line for the Royals was more self-inflicted.
“Fast shots, they’re crucial because it messes up our offense,” Abdelwahab said. “We’re not really in rhythm. It messes us up.”
Abdelwahab was the lone outlier, scoring a game-high 22 points. He hit five of his 10 3-point looks, giving him 65 made triples in his senior season. He hit a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers to keep Upper Darby in it, but the support was too scarce. The other four members of Upper Darby’s starting lineup combined for just 11 points on 4-for-24 shooting.
Abdelwahab’s eight first-quarter points could only keep UD within 24-11 after eight minutes thanks to Morrison’s 3-pointer to end the frame. Morrison was 3-for-4 from long range and had accumulated 15 points by halftime. Mears stepped up with six in the third quarter, and most of the starters were pulled by the time Emuyel Charleston hit a jumper with six and a half minutes to go to stretch Lincoln’s lead to its largest at 62-25.
That left a brief moment for Abdelwahab to reflect in game of what his Royals had accomplished. His stern demeanor softened briefly, the truth became clear even in defeat. From a six-win team last year, Upper Darby had blossomed to 17 victories, earning a spot in the Central League semifinals and the state tournament. Until the rough patch getting momentum restarted in district playbacks, the Royals had put together a special season.
It’s something that Abdelwahab, who played his first two years at Bonner & Prendergast before transferring to Upper Darby, appreciates perhaps more than most.
“Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything. I don’t regret anything,” he said. “… With four minutes left in the game, I’m just looking at the clock and I’m just like, ‘this is my last high school game.’ It’s just bittersweet. I just tried to play my hardest.”
