First it was Tom Kleinschmidt’s night, and then it was DJ Steward’s.
Fenwick came to DePaul Prep on Friday trying to hold onto the Catholic League Blue lead on a night when the Rams retired Kleinschmidt’s jersey.
Kleinschmidt has brought the Rams back to prominence as their head coach, more than two decades after a legendary playing career at what was then called Gordon Tech.
Steward and the Friars watched a pregame video tribute to Kleinschmidt followed by speeches from school officials and the man himself. Then it was Steward’s turn to shine.
The sophomore guard played the disrupter on defense and scored a game-high 25 points as the Friars pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 61-51 win. Perry Cowan had 21 points for DePaul Prep.
“That’s tough, just coming out here in this great environment, playing in front of all these people,” Steward said. “It’s a struggle, you’ve got to get back loose (after the ceremony) … get our heads back together for the game.”
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He did, helping the Friars (15-6, 6-0) finally take control in the fourth quarter. DePaul (18-5, 3-2) led 39-38 after the third.
But Damari Nixon hit a 3-pointer at 7:33 of the fourth, Steward followed with a dunk and a free throw, and Nixon added another basket for a 46-39 Fenwick lead with 5:40 left.
Steward had 11 of Fenwick’s 23 points in the fourth quarter. On Friday morning, he was named a part of the 2020 ESPN 25, a list of the top 25 recruits in the sophomore class. ESPN ranks Steward as a five-star recruit.
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“I was trying to play great defense so it could lead into my offense,” Steward said. “Our traps were a little deadly today, and it probably tired them out overall.”
Both coaches saw it the same way.
“DJ was great, but our guys made DJ great too,” Fenwick coach Rick Malnati said. “We don’t get all those runouts unless you throw the ball to him.”
“They wore us down with the 1-3-1 (defense),” Kleinschmidt added. “We knew it was coming. We just can’t simulate how well they play it.
“(Steward) takes control on defense and it turns into his offense. He’s really good at the top of that point.”
Also good at the point: Nixon, who scored 13 on 6-for-9 shooting.
“I thought Damari Nixon played like a world-class point guard tonight,” Malnati said.
The Fenwick coach also had praise for Kleinschmidt, who led Gordon Tech to second in Class AA in 1990 and later starred as a DePaul Blue Demon.
“He could mix it up, he always made the right decisions,” Malnati said. “He’s 6-4, could handle it, he could rebound it, he could shoot it. And you had to kill him to beat him.”
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And the respect goes both ways. Kleinschmidt noted that he and Malnati were pallbearers at the funeral of late Gordon Tech coach Steve Pappas.
“Coach Pappas was his good friend … so we go way back,” Kleinschmidt said. “(Malnati has) become a mentor to me. I call him for advice. He’s taught me a lot over the phone and watching their teams on film.”
Twitter @mikeclarkpreps