Jefferson hands Lincoln 1st divisional loss
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Backpack Broadcasting's Dexter Henry chats with Thomas Jefferson Orange Wave's forward Jermoine Faison following his 25 points and 15 rebound performance in a 65-58 victory over the Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln jumped out in front early as Elijah Davis (22 points) and Isaiah Whitehead (8 points) attacked the basket but Faison put a stop to that early with good defensive work on the glass.
With 3:38 remaining in the opening quarter that game was tied at 5 but Jefferson was building momentum and soon took the lead. FIU bound Jaquan Lynch (11 points) would hit timely baskets to end the quarter with an 8-4 run to be up 13-9 as the second quarter began.
Jefferson extended their lead to six before Trevonn Morton (11 points) got hot from the perimeter. The senior fired off multiple treys and cut the Orange Wave's led to a point with 5:18 left in the half.
Whitehead pressed the action going coast to coast for a basket, giving Lincoln the lead but Nazi Stokes countered. The lead changed hand until Desi Rodriguez (12 points) and Davis pounded inside, giving the Railsplitters a late advantage but with 5 seconds left in the half, Richard Moody knocked down a runner and-1 to tie the game at 27.
In the second half, Lincoln came out aggressive as Rodriguez and Whitehead remained in attack mode but Faison kept Thomas Jefferson in the hunt with his tenaciousness on the boards, especially offensively. The Orange Wave's defensive traps on Whitehead clearly flustered the junior, forcing him to scratch and claw for every infrequent point he got.
1:22 remained in the third and Lynch would tie the game at 36. Davis would bang a three-ball with 45 seconds but Lynch would answer back to tie the game again at 39 going into the final quarter.
The slugfest continued as the score was tied at 41 and again at 43. A bucket by Davis would give Lincoln a 2 point lead with 5:40 left to play but that would be the last lead they'd enjoy. Faison, who was the poster child for Jefferson's swarming defense, was a beast in the paint and drew a charge on Whitehead. Within 40 seconds, the Wave had gone on a 7-0 run and were up by five.
As the clock slowly wound down, the Railsplitters got prematurely desperate and it cost them. Scoring in transition off of costly Lincoln misses, a basket by Faison with 3:30 left to play gave the Wave a 56-46 lead.
With 1:33 left in regulation, Lincoln was still in the hole by 9. A trey by an unusually quiet Shaquille Davis would slice Jefferson's lead to 6 with 1:10 but that would be as close as they would get.
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