By Danny Wild

MaxPreps.com

NEW YORK – Talk about an up-and-down week in Coney Island. Just two days after Lincoln won the PSAL Brooklyn borough championship, it was CHSAA rival St. Raymond who enjoyed the serious celebrating.

The PSAL crowned its borough champions around New York City last week without many surprises or upsets – those were reserved for Sunday afternoon, thanks to St. Ray. Lincoln, ranked No. 1 in the PSAL by MaxPreps, easily pushed aside Thomas Jefferson for the Brooklyn borough crown in what was probably the most notable outcome of the weekend on Saturday, Feb. 16.

The weekend’s biggest news came Sunday with St. Raymond’s two-point overtime win over Lincoln at LIU. The Ravens, ranked No. 26 in the nation by MaxPreps, stunned No. 16 Lincoln when they erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to extra innings.

Darryl Bryant led the Ravens, as usual, with 19 points while juniors Omari Lawrence and Kevin Parrom each scored 15. Delroy Daley chipped in 14 before fouling out in overtime.

Bryant spoke about the match-up and win over the much-hyped Lance Stephenson and even said his teammates are just as talented as the Coney Island star.

“We know that Lance is tops in the nation, but he's not the only one in the City," Bryant told the New York Daily News. "I know we have some good players, too. We have two juniors, Omari and Kevin, who are at the same level. They just needed the chance to show it.”

Stephenson finished with 19 points, but was officially finished when his three-point attempt at the buzzer in overtime bounced off the rim. According to the Daily News, Lance ran off the court and would not speak with reporters.

Check out MaxPreps' Matt Marinello's exclusive interview with Lance on the PSAL page.

PSAL Borough Champions

The Railsplitters (21-4) are 15-1 in league play this season and have won five of the last six PSAL titles. They’re aiming for No. 6. Let's quickly run down who remains standing in each borough:

- No.2 seed Cardozo defeated No. 1 seed Campus Magnet, 58-51, to win the PSAL Queens Borough championship at St. John's University.

- Top-seeded Wadleigh, the Manhattan AA league champs, topped No. 3 seed Frederick Douglas Academy, 63-53, to earn the PSAL Manhattan Borough championship at St. John’s University.

- No.2 seed Wings Academy earned a 10-point victory over No. 1 John F. Kennedy, 77-67, to snag the PSAL Bronx Borough title at St. John’s.

- St. Peter’s narrowly defeated Curtis, 49-46, to win its second straight Staten Island High School Basketball league title at the College of State Island, an annual battle of public and Catholic schools on the island.

- And, yes, Lincoln breezed past Jefferson, 87-66, for the Brooklyn crown at St. John’s.

Lincoln Takes Brooklyn Crown

The Railsplitters marched to the Brooklyn title with little resistance. Lance Stephenson burned George Westinghouse with a game-high 31 points and 12 rebounds on Feb. 12 to give Lincoln a 93-56 first round win.

Lance again led the way on Valentine’s Day with a game-high 29 points, five boards and one assist in an 80-55 second round win over Robeson. Shenon Johannes led Robeson with 16 points and four assists.

Number 3 seed Jefferson upset Boys & Girls earlier that day, 75-67, thanks to 21 points from Joel Wright. Keith Spellman added 17 points, Davontay Grace had 15 and Dave Coley added 13 in the win. Brandon Romain led the Boys with 20 points.

Lincoln took the borough crown on Saturday when Darwin Ellis scored 18 points and added eight assists in the Railsplitters’ 21-point destruction of Jefferson at St. John’s. Stephenson scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win. Ellis, nicknamed ‘Buddha,’ scored all of his points in the second half.

"He's been through everything that Lance has been through," Lincoln coach Dwayne Morton told the Daily News. "Buddha's been there. It makes him tough. He's one of the guys that can pick us up."

Morton was also pleased with his team’s big men up front.

“This is the best frontcourt I've had ever," Morton told the paper. "They are more aggressive [than past frontcourts]. They really go for it down low."

Morton’s big men made their presence and size felt on Saturday. Xaverian transfer David Pagett, who stands 6-foot-8, helped out with nine points and 6-foot-7 Justin Greene finished with 15.

Cardozo Remains Standing After Queens Shootout

Trinity Fields scored 16 points and Edy Toussaint added 11 to lead Cardozo past Campus Magnet, 58-51, on Sunday.

The Judges trailed by one after the first quarter but reeled off 17 points in the second quarter to tie it up at 29-29 at halftime. Cardozo outscored Magnet by 15-10 in the third and held on in the fourth despite a 21-point effort from Kyle O’Quinn.

Cardozo knocked off No. 3 seed Edison on Thursday, 63-54, after blowing out Hillcrest on Tuesday, 73-53. Magnet had scored wins over Newton and Forest Hills en route to the title game.

Wings Takes Bronx Title

Number 2 seed Wings scored wins over No. 7 Gompers, 66-48, and No. 6 Monroe, 77-56, before knocking off top-seeded JFK on Sunday, 77-67, for the Bronx crown. Dashaun Wiggins scored 19 points in the championship contest and was named MVP.

It was an emotional performance for Wiggins, who had been kept off the court because of his low grades. Eligibility back, Wiggins showed up to play.

“It was real crazy,” Wiggins said of his time away from the game to NYHoops.com. “Just waiting all the time, waiting for me to play because my team really needed me. I was depressed. I felt like I was going to die for a moment because I wanted to play.”

Dashaun Wiggins dropped 17 points on Monroe in the second-round win after Krystian Foriest led the way with a game-high 22 on Feb. 12 over Gompers.

No. 1 Wadleigh Owns Manhattan

Curtis Loving scored a team-high 19 points and was named MVP after helping the Tigers to a 63-53 Manhattan borough win over FDA on Sunday at St. John’s.

Top-seeded Wadleigh breezed to the title without any trouble. Will Harrison scored 22 points and Terence Henderson added 16 in a lopsided 89-45 first-round win over Julia Richman. Harrison scored 18 and Phyllip Jordan added a dozen in another blowout win, 77-47, over Manhattan Center/Science & Math on Thursday.

Loughlin Tops St. Raymond

Doron Lamb and Kevin Phillip led Bishop Loughlin (19-5, 10-3) to a 76-63 win over St. Raymond of the Bronx on Friday to earn a share of first place in the Brooklyn-Queens Diocesan.

Phillip scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Lamb added 17 in the win.

“This means a lot,” Phillip told the Daily News. “I don't think Loughlin has won the Diocesan in, well, a lot of years."

Rank ‘Em

Here’s the weekly rundown on the MaxPreps New York state Top-10

1. Rice (New York, NY)

2. Lincoln (Brooklyn, NY)

3. St. Raymond Boys (Bronx, NY)

4. Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn, NY)

5. Holy Cross (Flushing, NY)

6. Christ the King (Middle Village, NY)

7. Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, NY)

8. Mt. Vernon (NY)

9. Niagara Falls (NY)

10. Peekskill (NY)

Holy Cross Slams Arch. Malloy on Senior Night

Virginia-bound Sylven Landesberg dazzled on senior night at Holy Cross with 39 points, 11 rebounds and a few dunks to lead the Knights past Malloy on Friday, 76-59.

Holy Cross led by 21-10 after the first quarter thanks to 14 points from Landesberg.

Blaise Ffrench finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Molloy was led by Russ Smith’s team-high 18 points and six assists. Ashton Pankey added 16 points and 15 rebounds in defeat.

Holy Cross honored its nine graduating seniors – Tyshawn Russell, Lespaul Newton, Kayvon Roberts, Blaise Ffrench, Ernest Freeman, Felix Llano, Justin Giryluk, Landesberg and Tim Beinert – before the game.

Danny Wild is a writer and photographer for MaxPreps and can be reached at danny@danny-wild.com