This revenge was particularly sweet.
The top-seeded Lincoln boys basketball team defeated No. 11 Jefferson 82–64 in the Public Schools Athletic League “AA” title game at Madison Square Garden March 11, avenging last season’s championship loss to the Orange Wave. It’s the first city title for the Railsplitters since 2013.
“Going out on top as seniors is a great feeling,” said Lincoln point guard Donald Cannon Flores. “Last year we didn’t finish the way we wanted, getting to the championship game and losing by over 20 points. This year we wanted to come out strong and get this win.”
The game was close in the first quarter, but the Railsplitters went on an 18-point run and outscored Jefferson 25–7 in the second.
“I kept these guys loose,” said Lincoln coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton. “These guys understand. There’s no point in changing your strategy, just stay loose.”
The key for the Railsplitters, as it’s been all season, was defense and pressure. Lincoln forced 15 Jefferson turnovers in the first half and racked up 18 points off the miscues. The Railsplitters also controlled the game on the block, notching 46 points in the paint throughout the title tilt.
“The defense was awesome,” said Lincoln junior Curtis Gordon, who scored 21 points. “We locked them down and they couldn’t score. We talked on the court and we just followed our coach’s orders.”
Lincoln continued to control the game in the second half, but that momentum skidded to a halt as foul trouble plagued both squads down the stretch.
The Railsplitters and the Orange Wave combined for just nine free throw attempts in the first half, but shot 31 times from the foul line in the final 16 minutes as both squads struggled to maintain a rhythm amid near-constant whistles.
“We just listened to coach,” said game MVP Klay Ferguson Brown, who finished with a game-high 22 points. “It was important that we had to get this win.”
The whistles, however, didn’t stop Lincoln’s offense from hitting its late-game shots — or its free throws. The Railsplitters went 14-of-27 from the floor in the second half and shot 75 percent from the line.
Jefferson did its best to get back into the game, cutting the deficit to 18 points with just over seven minutes left, but couldn’t quite turn the tide. Emotions reached a boil with 1:32 left after Jefferson coach Lawrence “Bud” Pollard was ejected following his second technical foul, but Lincoln kept its focus down the stretch.
“We went undefeated in the city and it was our fourth time playing Jefferson,” said senior Michael Reid. “So we just came out and wanted to pound them. We wanted to kill them by, like, 50.”
Lincoln put nine players in the box score, including four who scored double digits in points.
The victory advanced the Railsplitters to the state Federation Tournament in Glens Falls later this month, where the team will take on Catholic League champion Cardinal Hayes. Now that they’ve conquered their public schools adversaries, Lincoln’s players are determined to return to Coney Island with another state title. Revenge tastes good, but winning, they say, tastes even better.
“We’re getting back in the gym and get ready for states,” Reid said. “That’s pretty much it.”
