By Danny Wild
MaxPreps.com
NEW YORK - The New York State Sportswriters Association released its Top 25 poll last week, and not surprisingly, Brooklyn's undefeated Lincoln High School was No. 1.
Lincoln will likely remain atop the state poll this week after it improved to 4-0 with wins over Robeson Business Tech (Brooklyn) Dec. 11 and a blowout victory over Banneker (Brooklyn) Dec. 13. The Railsplitters narrowly topped Robeson, 67-63, although the game was tied heading into the fourth quarter. Lance Stephenson returned from an ankle injury and scored 23 points in the win. The junior is averaging 17.2 points per game and nearly seven rebounds per game.
Sports Illustrated ranked Lincoln at No. 12 nationally while USA Today put the Coney Island squad at No. 9 overall in its Super 25 poll Monday night. The Herald News, via northjersey.com, reported that an ESPN documentary film crew has been following Stephenson. The crew will apparently trail the Brooklyn star, as it did with Lincoln alum Sebastian Telfair, until 2010.
Christ the King was ranked No. 2 in the NYSSWA poll, while Rice was No. 3. Holy Cross (No. 4), St. Raymond (No. 7) and John F. Kennedy of the Bronx (No. 9) also made the top 10.
Uptown & The Bronx: Overtime Shootout at St. Raymond
A rowdy crowd helped cheer St. Raymond past Christ the King in overtime, 95-90, on Dec. 14. Full coverage of the game, from MaxPrep's Steve Spiewak, along with video highlights can be found on MaxPreps's New York State basketball page.
"This St. Raymond's crowd is phenomenal," said Omari Lawrence, who poured in 28 points in the win. "These guys are our sixth man, they help out the best way they can. They fuel us; they help us to continue to play well. They pump us up, give us all the energy we need."
Darryl Bryant led St. Raymond with 33 points, while Ryan Pearson dropped 40 points for Christ the King. The Royals bounced back on Sunday with a 62-44 win over St. Dominic.
Downtown & Brooklyn: Battles in Brownsville
Jefferson barely squeaked by Canarsie on Saturday with a 67-65 win at home. Jefferson took a 66-62 lead on four foul shots from Joel Wright with 23 seconds left, but a backcourt violation and ensuing foul let Canarsie sneak back into the game. Hofstra-bound Yves Jules nailed a pair from the charity stripe and Vincent Matos hit one of his final two free throws to end the game with one second left. Keith Spellmen led Jefferson with 23 points, while Wright contributed 21. Matos led Canarsie with 20, and Jules collected 13.
Xaverian crushed St. Mary's of Manhasset on Friday night with a 67-43 win at home in Brooklyn. Matt Troisi helped the Clippers with 20 points while Joe Ecock finished with 13.
Boys & Girls picked up an 86-75 win over Jefferson on Thursday, thanks to a game-high 25-point effort from Rutgers-bound Pat Jackson. Jackson hit five from long range, while Kyrie Sutton added 11 points, 17 boards and 10 blocked shots.
Boys & Girls coach Ruth Lovelace relayed some recent trash talk of Jackson from Jefferson, and the words served as fuel for 6-foot-6 forward.
"People know I'm quiet, but I wanted them to see a different side of me," Jackson told the New York Daily News. "I can play with a lot of intensity. I heard Jefferson downing my game and that just ignited me."
Around the Apple
Eagle Academy and South Bronx hooked up for an offensive shootout on Friday, with Eagle coming away with a 109-95 win to remain undefeated at 6-0. It was the third time Eagle Academy has scored 98 points or more this season, and the second time its topped 100.
Most of the city's public schools were in action on Friday night. Newton topped Adams, 52-40; Layfayette edged Midwood 45-44; Jamaica blew out Richmond Hill, 88-68; St. Joseph held off Port Richmond, 51-49, and the Bronx School of Science got by Stevenson, 54-51.
Fordham Prep fell to Niagara Catholic on Saturday, 69-61, and Mount St. Michael got past Cardinal Spellman, 48-44. Mikhial Bradshaw of Moore Catholic (Staten Island) leads all Catholic school scorers with 125 points, while teammate Victor Schettino leads the city with 21 three-pointers. St. Agnes senior Matt Wafula leads the state league with 70 total rebounds, and teammate Eric Simpson is the assists leader with 25.
In the PSAL, Kevin White remained the top scorer with 261 points entering action on Monday. Henry Steet's Tyrell Davis is second with 177 points, and Eagle Academy's Antoine Gattling is third with 167.
Rice Picks Sun Over Snow
Rice High School avoided a pair of snow storms in New York when it traveled to Hawaii for the Iolani Classic Monday. Rice, ranked No. 9 nationally by Sports Illustrated, will face St. Louis (Honolulu) in the first round of the tournament, which features 15 teams, including one from China. Section 1 power Mount Vernon made the trek to Honolulu, as did teams from California, Alabama, Maryland, Florida and, of course, Hawaii.
Rice entered the game at 3-0 and ranked No. 10 nationally by USA Today. The Raiders backcourt dominated in a 79-55 win over Staten Island's Monsignor Farrell last week, when Kemba Walker scored 20 points and Durant Scott had 26. A video interview with Walker is currently playing on MaxPrep's Rice team page.
Holiday Tourney Time
John Bowne High will host the third annual Queens Jam Christmas Classic on Saturday, Dec. 29, with action starting at 10 a.m. Richmond Hill will face Cathedral Prep in Game 1, while LIC will take on Environmental Studies at 11:45 a.m. Flushing and Wyandanch meet in the third game, Thomas Edison will take on Canarsie in the 3:15 p.m. game, and Bowne will host Massapequa in 5 p.m. contest.
Across town at Nazareth High School in Brooklyn, four CHSAA teams and four PSAL teams will lock up for the Tournament of Kings. Monsignor McClancy, St. Joseph's by the Sea, St. Agnes and Nazareth will play in the CHSAA bracket, while Brooklyn Tech, James Madison, Port Richmond and Automotive will battle for public bragging rights.
Nike at The Garden
Nike announced its schedule for the Nike Super 6 Invitational to be held Sunday, Jan. 13 at Madison Square Garden. The triple-header begins with New Jersey's Paterson Catholic squaring off against Section 1 power Mount Vernon. St. Raymond will represent the Bronx against St. Patrick (Newark, N.J.), while Harlem's Rice will head downtown to face the young guns of Newark's St. Benedict's in the tournament finale. Action begins at 11 a.m., with Rice playing at 2:30 p.m.
Pearson's Effort
Christ the King's Ryan Pearson scored a career-high 40 points in a loss to St. Raymond on Friday, a sign of what's still to come for the talented senior. Pearson poured in 22 points in the first half before his 18-point effort in the second nearly won the game for the Royals.
"He was tremendous," Royals Coach Bob Oliva told the Queens Courier.
Pearson, headed George Mason next fall, is in his third year with the varsity program. He sent the game into overtime on Friday with a last-second shot.
Danny Wild is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He can be reached at danny@danny-wild.com
