Lincoln Is Brooklyn's Big Dog
JAMAICA, NY -“I might be the big dog again!”
That simple statement came out of the mouth of Lincoln head coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton. Time was running down late in the fourth quarter of the Brooklyn Borough championship. Lincoln was holding off a furious comeback attempt from Jefferson, but it was obvious that a comeback wasn’t going to happen.
Cahiem Brown led Lincoln with 30 points in a game that saw Lincoln build a lead by as much as 20 points in the second half. Lincoln held a double-digit lead for most of the second half on the way to an 87-77 victory. This was the second time in a row that Lincoln beat Jefferson, but this time Jefferson played with their entire team.
Morton saying he was “the big dog again” goes back to two seasons ago when Jefferson knocked off Lincoln in the 2014 PSAL semifinals before he left to coach at Seton Hall. Jefferson head coach Lawrence “Bud” Pollard had said he was “the big dog” at the end of that game and was happy to send Morton out of the PSAL with a loss.
It looks like the rivalry is alive and well. But that’s just the side story to the main event.
Jefferson didn’t play their starters the last time the two teams were matched up almost two weeks ago at Lincoln. The way the game played out was very similar; the only difference is that Jefferson had a real chance to win today.
Jefferson’s Shamorie Ponds is a 4-star recruit, but he wasn’t the best player on the floor in this game according to Morton. Morton said he thinks Brown is one of the best players in the city this year and it needs to be more widely recognize.
Brown, who will be a guard when he goes to the next level, was often on the end of his teammates passes for scores. The ball seemed to find him throughout the contest.
“I’m in the right spot at the right time [and] being aggressive. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball” Brown said after the game.
Another player who had a real productive game despite being in foul trouble was Kclejuan Ferguson. He was extremely active in the paint and scored 18 points for the Railsplitters. Sophomore guard Tyler Bourne scored 15 points, while senior Rakym Felder finished with 14 points.
Jefferson was led by Rasheem Dunn with 33 points. Ponds didn’t have a field goal in the first half and finished with 21 points.
So far Lincoln and Jefferson have played three times this year. Lincoln holds the edge, winning the last two. Nobody will be surprised if they have to play each other a fourth time in the PSAL playoffs.
