Myers leads Boys Girls over Lincoln in OT
BROOKLYN, NY - Boys & Girls Kangaroos vs. Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters is always an event. The last game of the regular season was no different. Lincoln traveled to Bed-Stuy to play the two time defending champions and almost pulled off a win despite being short-handed because of injury. However, Boys High showed exactly why they are the PSAL champions, coming back from a second half deficit to tie the game at the end of regulation, and then win it 72-65 in overtime.
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Leroy Fludd was fouled shooting a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left in regulation and his team down 59-56. Fludd went through his free throw routine and swished the first two before Lincoln coach Dwayne "Tiny" Morton called a timeout to try and freeze Fludd. It didn't work as Fludd made the last free throw to send the game to the extra session.
Wes Myers came out and gave Boys High their first lead of the second half when Dykweil Bryan found him at the end of a fast break he scored the first basket in overtime while getting fouled. Myers, who hit two big threes at the beginning of the fourth period when Boys was down 7, also made the free throw to put his team up 62-59.
Still, Lincoln wasn't going anywhere and a hook shot by senior forward Tafari Whittingham with 1:40 left in the game made the score 65-63. Boys High answered when Bryan almost tripped, driving into the paint on their next possession but still was able to find senior Rashard Andrews in the corner for a three. The basket put Boys up by five and they were able to hold off Lincoln the rest of the way.
Lincoln was playing shorthanded because sophomore guard Isaiah Whitehead hurt his ankle near the end of the third quarter and was down for a few minutes. Whitehead had to be carried off the court but never returned.
Lincoln was still leading 47-40 at the beginning of the fourth quarter when junior guard Dashawn Suber hurt his foot and just like Whitehead, he was done for the rest of the game. But good play inside by Whittingham and senior Travis Charles kept Lincoln on top until 3.9 seconds left when Charles fouled Fludd behind the arc.
Down two players, Lincoln still scrapped and probably should have come away with the victory in regulation. Junior guard Ethan Telfair was at the line with 14.5 seconds left with Lincoln holding a 59-56 lead. Telfair missed both free throws and if he had hit just one, it would have made it a two possession game.
Morton was disappointed after the game but he thought his team played excellent in spite of the circumstances, but they lost the game at the free-throw line.
"We did a good job playing at the end with the five we had in there," Morton said after the game. "I think we gave the game away, and [Boys] was there to take it."
Boys did a good job hitting shots from outside late in the game and they were pretty good from the charity stripe late in the contest, knocking down their chances when they needed it most.
This was just Boys holding down their home court, and it's possible that these two teams will meet again, maybe even two more times. They could possibly meet in the borough championships and maybe one more time when it really counts, at Madison Square Garden for the title.
Why not? They have played in the last game of the season the last four years. It could happen again.
Myers scored 18 points to lead Boys, all in the second half. Fludd added another double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Whittingham led Lincoln with 15 points.
Despite the win, Boys finished third in Brooklyn AA with an 11-3 league record. Lincoln tied with Jefferson at the top of the league with a 12-2 record.
Even though the finished third, the confidence is still prevalent at Boys & Girls, and Myers said how he felt after the game.
"We're the team to beat…always was."
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