By Dylan Butler
It was the second game of what high school basketball fans hope is a trilogy. And after the Cardozo boys’ basketball team struck first last month, Lincoln got its revenge Friday night in the Brooklyn Winter Classic at St. Francis College.
The difference in the 85-63 drubbing was Sebastian Telfair. After sitting out the first game — an 82-77 Cardozo win Dec. 28 — while still nursing a sprained ankle suffered earlier in the month, the Louisville-bound point guard was in the starting lineup and had a game-high 29 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
“That was just Sebastian being Sebastian,” said Lincoln coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton. “If he plays like Sebastian, it’s a no-brainer to me.”
Still smarting from an overtime loss to neighborhood rival Grady two days earlier, Lincoln picked up its defensive intensity in the second half and, after making its first three shots of the second half, Cardozo (14-2) missed 16 of its last 17.
After shooting 50 percent in a first half that ended 42-42, the Judges shot just 20 percent in the second half as the Railsplitters went zone after playing man-to-man in the first half.
“Lincoln’s reputation is defense and their guards were too relaxed shooting over us,” Morton told his team at halftime.
Vic Morris, who scored 28 points and was the star of Cardozo’s win over Lincoln last month, had 11 in the first half but was limited to just three second-half shots to finish with 13 points.
“We should have won this game, man,” said Cardozo forward Skyler Khaleel. “When they were going man they couldn’t stop us. When they switched it up was when the game changed. … It’s not over yet, though. We got one more.”
Lincoln (16-4) pulled away with a 24-6 run that was capped by a Telfair layup that made it 71-56 and featured a rare technical foul on Cardozo coach Ron Naclerio, incensed over a few non-calls by the game’s officials.
“They hit some big threes, our defense got a little lazy and they ran their triangle offense to perfection,” Naclerio said. “Defensively they’re a hot and cold team just like we’re a hot and cold team on offense.”
Eugene Lawrence had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Nyan Boateng had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Antonio Pena added 11 points and five rebounds for Lincoln, which shot 55 percent for the game and 77 percent (10-for-13) in a fourth quarter that saw the Railsplitters outscore Cardozo, 25-9.
Canadian import Theo Davis led the Judges with 19 points and eight rebounds, and Nick Flagg added 15.
“We didn’t play our best game and they played an A-plus game,” Flagg said. “I think we can beat them with or without (Telfair) it doesn’t really matter.”
With both teams winning one game, many hope the question of who is the best team in the city will be answered on the floor of Madison Square Garden March 17. But Telfair thinks that question has already been answered.
“Didn’t you already know?” he asked.
Cardozo 60, Grady 54. Khaleel had 14 points, Drew Gladstone scored 13 points off the bench and Flagg and Davis added 11 points apiece for the Judges in the High Energy/Brooklyn Bridge Challenge at Long Island University Sunday. David Pankey had 19 points and Basil Leslie added 18 for Grady (18-4).
Campus Magnet 64, Truman 53. Carlos Cadet and Lavell Sobers scored 12 points apiece for Campus Magnet at the Martin Luther King tournament at Elmcor Sunday. Jamaica also fell to Manhattan Center, 79-70, in the tournament.
Cardozo 67, Patterson Catholic (N.J.) 59. Dwayne Johnson had 17 points and six assists, and Davis added 14 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for the Judges in the Martin Luther King Newark Basketball Tournament at Essex Community College Saturday.
Long Island City 51, Telecommunication 47. Preston Bell had 18 points, Silvio Marfe had 16 points and John Taylor added 11 for LIC (16-3) in a non-league overtime win.
Bayside 95, Francis Lewis 50. Tyrone Dulin had 26 points and Ryan Leak added 23 points and 10 rebounds for Bayside (17-5, 10-2 Queens II-A).
Van Buren 59, Jamaica 48. Craig Davis had 19 points, 21 rebounds and four blocks, and Will Egwu added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Van Buren (13-2, 7-1 Queens III-A).
Forest Hills 73, Automotive 63. Lawrence Young had 35 points and Tyrone Stewart added 18 points and 11 rebounds for Forest Hills (8-11).
Townsend Harris 60, American Studies 39. Kenny Yu had 16 points, and Jesse Franco and Paris Asprou added 13 points apiece for Townsend Harris (16-4).
John Adams 69, Thomas Edison 46. Carl Patterson had 12 points and Marc Lorquet added nine points for Adams (12-8).
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
