East Xtra: Central Catholic rides its Lincoln to playoffs
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Central Catholic's Lincoln Davis drives to the basket in a game against North Allegheny last week.
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Central Catholic basketball coach Chuck Crummie has seen plenty of talented players at the boys-only Catholic school on Fifth Avenue in his 32 years as the Vikings coach.
He's most pleased with the progress shown by Lincoln Davis, a 6-foot-2 senior guard from Penn Hills, since his freshman year.
"When he was a freshman, he didn't understand the need to play hard," Crummie said. "But he has come to find out that if you don't play hard every night, there will be someone better than you who has prepared harder than you.
"He's matured not only as a young man but also as a basketball player. He understands some of the things you need to do to become a very good basketball player."
Davis displayed those lessons last Friday night in a crucial WPIAL Section 3-AAAA game at North Allegheny. Despite his scoring 33 points and clearing seven rebounds, the balanced Tigers seized control, thanks to two crucial 3-point field goals by R.J. Colabrese and Sean Hennigan to turn a narrow 3-point advantage into a 60-51 lead with 4 minutes and 2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings never got within six points for the rest of the game and got the deficit under 10 points at 68-59 when Davis delivered an uncontested slam dunk as time ran out.
"They hit four 3-point goals in the first half, and we challenged them," Crummie said. "But the ones they made in the fourth quarter, we didn't challenge. That showed to me a lack of effort, and that's something we've been trying to fight."
That loss put Central Catholic in a must-win situation on Tuesday night against Butler at the Vikings' Alumni Hall. And win the Vikings did as Sam Calhoun scored a career-high 21 points and Davis added 15 in Central's 57-42 victory. The win earned Central the fourth and final playoff berth in Section 3-AAAA.
All that remains on the regular-season schedule for Central Catholic is a non-section home game next Monday against North Catholic.
Last year, Central Catholic failed to make the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs, losing its last five section games to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
Crummie could not understand the lack of urgency on his Vikings team last Friday.
"If they don't realize it, then I don't think there's anything that we can do," the coach said following the loss to North Allegheny. "I know our coaches were well-aware of the ramifications of this win or loss. [Coaches] live with it for years; [players] might live with it for a day ... maybe. Society has changed quite a bit, that's for sure."
One player who shares Crummie's "old school" attitude is Davis, who entered Tuesday's game averaging 20.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game.
He was named to the all-section team last year in his junior season. This year, he was named the Most Valuable Player in the Cancer Research Classic against Wheeling (W.Va.) Central Catholic and MVP of the Planet Athlete Pitt National Showcase last month.
Through Tuesday's game against Butler, Davis has scored 985 points in his high school career. He needs 15 against Central's longtime rivals from Troy Hill Monday to reach the 1,000-point mark.
Even though the 33 points he scored against North Allegheny represent a personal best, Davis is not resting. He's waiting for his signature moment as a Viking and hopes for a playoff run to achieve it.
As Central Catholic's marquee player, he knows the Vikings depend on his efforts.
"I'm taking the blame for this [North Allegheny] loss," said Davis, who wants to be a psychologist. "I should have gotten my team more involved and got them excited to play. The best moment is yet to come. We want to try to continue this season. I feel the [best moment] is coming soon."
Davis, who did not draw much attention from college recruiters until his senior season, said Division I programs St. Francis (Pa.), Hofstra and Fairfield have shown the most interest. "[The recruiting process is] a little stressful, but I'll make a decision after the season. At this point, I'm just worried about the season."
Crummie said the program that lands Davis will get a versatile player who can quickly adapt his game.
"His athleticism is up there with anyone going to the next level," the coach said. "He's been able to change his game from being a slasher and a driver to a jump shooter.
"He works hard on his game individually. He's done that year after year, and he's added something to his game each time.
"He started to add things defensively as he's had some blocked shots. He's started to rebound the ball, and he's given great effort."
First Published February 9, 2012 12:00 am
