Lincoln Park advances to the city title game for the first time in 122 years, will face Curie on Friday

Lincoln Park is in the city title game for the first time in 122 years. The school was called North Division when it knocked off Austin to win the championship in 1904. It was renamed Waller and then became Lincoln Park in the late 1970s.

This season, the No. 21 Lions are one of the most talented teams in the Public League but didn't live up to expectations early in the season. Lincoln Park even had a key player transfer to a prep school in late December.

Coach Josh Anderson, a former Simeon star and the son of former NBA player Nick Anderson, guided the team through the rough start and relished his team’s 52-43 win against No. 25 Hyde Park in the Public League playoff semifinals on Wednesday at UIC.

“Hours in the gym, hours of film,” Anderson said. “They’ve built a bond. Every season they grew. We hung our hat on the work. When you are 16 and 17 it is about maturity. They have taken to the coaching and they have matured.”

Senior Ahmad Lee and senior forward Larry Harris lived up to their potential under the bright lights.

“The losses we took this season were not because of the teams we were playing,” Harris said. “It was because of ourselves.”

Lee, a fast and dynamic guard, finished with 17 points, six assists and four rebounds. Harris, an athletic leaper, added 17 points and seven rebounds.

“Their two best players were their two best players,” Hyde Park coach Jerrel Oliver said. “Everything we said we would try to stop, we didn’t stop.”

Kye Ward-Owens scored with 4:28 left to pull the Thunderbirds within 39-34, but Lincoln Park (20-7) shot 11-for-14 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“That was part of the growth and maturity, the hours of free throws,” Anderson said. “There were some days where we weren’t doing anything but free throws. Getting that footwork down. I am proud of them.”

The Lions knocked off highly-regarded Peoria Richwoods last week and have played one of the most challenging schedules in the area.

“This feels great,” Lee said. “One more game. The Richwoods game helped us a lot. That big win was great for our chemistry.”

Senior Jaylen Dickerson scored 12 points and had five assists for the Lions.

“We always had belief,” Dickerson said. “We just needed to mature and we did. We don’t really pay attention to the rankings. We don’t let that fog up our brain. We just just played and learned throughout the season.”

Senior Zyere McNeal led Hyde Park (21-8) with 10 points and six rebounds. Senior Amare Leflore added nine points and junior Camarion Weathers scored eight for the Thunderbirds.

“Our guys just weren’t ready to play,” Oliver said. “We beat them last year and we beat them earlier this year and we got comfortable. And those guys gave it everything they had. Our guys just didn’t make the right decisions tonight.”

Lincoln Park will face No. 3 Curie in the city title game on Saturday at UIC. The Condors beat No. 23 Kenwood 64-50 in the second semifinal.

"The big key was making our free throws," Curie senior Justin Oliver said. "It is different [on the college court] it makes it look a little further and you have to get adjusted to it. Last year we were shooting from the college three but this year we made sure to step up a bit and shoot at the regular line."

Oliver finished with 15 points and six assists and senior forward Kendall Holliday added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Condors (25-1).

"Kenwood beat us three times last year," Holliday said. "They put us out of both of the playoffs. I wanted to go crazy. Our whole team gave it our all."

Senior guard Saquan Commings scored 11 points, Michael Oliver Jr. added nine and Keith Collins pitched in off the bench with five points and four rebounds."

"This feels good," Holliday said. "But the job is not done. One more win and then we can celebrate."

Junior Damari Stephens led Kenwood (17-8) with 15 points and junior guard Jordan Walker scored 13.

Curie lost to Kenwood in the championship game last year and has won three city titles overall, the last coming in 2024.