Lincoln Takes Over Brooklyn w/ Boro Chip

NEW YORK, NY - Abraham Lincoln was the top seed going into the Brooklyn Borough Championships, posting a 16-0 record in the Brooklyn AA.

The closest league game the Railsplitters played this season was 15 points. They also had a couple of forfeits sprinkled in where teams took the loss rather than travel to Coney Island and play the game, regardless of what the reasons may have been. One of the teams that forfeited was Jefferson, but they were in full attendance at City College on Sunday afternoon.

Lincoln played their part to perfection, jumping out to an 18-0 lead over 2nd seeded Jefferson and cruising to a 90-71 victory. The first quarter was so dominant you wondered if Jefferson was going to be able to regroup and at least show that they could score.

Senior guard Elisha Boone started the game off with two lay-ups; the second one came off of a Jefferson turnover. Isaiah Whitehead, a McDonald's All-American and one of the top players in the nation, made his first basket from behind the arc on the right wing and followed that with a lay-up. Finally, senior wing Desi Rodriguez tipped in a missed shot.

Whitehead capped off Lincoln's initial run with a baseline jumper after receiving a nice no look pass from senior point guard Anthony "A.J." Williams. You can't start off a game any better than the way Lincoln did. The game was never really close the rest of the way. After Lincoln jumped out to a 24-9 lead after the first and 46-25 at the intermission, Jefferson was able to make a brief run. They cut the lead down to 9 a few times in the fourth quarter, but Lincoln was able to answer each time with a basket.

It was a real dominant effort from the entire Lincoln team, but the shining stars in the game were the same players who started off the scoring. Rodriguez was a beast inside, too strong for Jefferson to handle as Rodriguez scored a game high 26 points. Most of those buckets were on offensive put-backs and maybe a dunk or two.

Boone was active all game, going strong to the basket and finishing with ease. His final tally was impressive also, finishing with 21 points. Boone, a 6-4 slashing shooting guard, committed to St. Peters in the middle of last month.

Whitehead, who is committed to Seton Hall as well as Rodriguez, showed off a little more of his arsenal against Jefferson. He made 3 three-pointers in the game in addition to finishing some pretty lay-ups in transition. Whitehead finished with 22 points.

Jefferson also had three players in double figures. Daquaise Andrews scored a team high 21 points for the Orange Wave. Patrick Brown scored 16 points, while sophomore guard Shamorie Ponds added 15.

As a whole, Lincoln just looks like they have too much talent for any team to really compete against them this post-season. It was shocking how quickly and easily Lincoln took control of the game against Jefferson. They were just too big and strong for Jefferson and their army of small guards to contend with.

When the play-offs start next week, this is what we will most likely see whenever teams match up against Lincoln. In the playoffs, the higher seed wears the home jerseys which are usually white. Lincoln will be the number one seed, there is no question about that. So it should be easy to see if you happen to see Lincoln play in the playoffs this season.

The team in white will be bigger and stronger than the other team. That's a guarantee.