The Big Payback: Lincoln Dominates Jefferson for the 2017 PSAL City Championship
The 2017 PSAL Playoffs came down to two a rematch of two Brooklyn powerhouses in a rematch of last year's title game. It was a matchup that was expected by many, but both teams had to go through different paths to get there. The top-seeded Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters have been dominating opponents throughout the playoffs, but the Orange wave has been the underdog throughout the Postseason. As the 11th seed in the playoffs, Jefferson has taken down a tough WHEELS Academy team on the road as well as beating top seeds John Bowne and Wings Academy on their way to the chip.
Donald Cannon-Flores and the rest of the Railsplitters Holding up the Trophy after the big championship win against Rival Thomas Jefferson Photo Credit: Jeffery Armstrong
The Orange Wave went in to the championship game wanting another chance at beating Lincoln while the Railsplitters who had memories of last year's blowout loss wanted the same. This game would mark the fourth straight game between both teams this season, last time these teams went against each other.
The game started out heavily in Jefferson's favor as the Orange Wave raced out to a 8-2 lead to start the game. The Railsplitters were going through a slow start and Coach Dwayne "Tiny" Morton made quick adjustment. Lincoln scored 9 straight points and led 11-8 with under two minutes remaining in the 1st. The Second quarter would be proven to be huge for Lincoln as they put the clamps on the Railsplitters. Kclejuan Brown started and quarter with a three point play as Lincoln extended their lead to four. Lincoln would continue their run as they scored 10 straight to take a 24-10 lead with 5:28 remaining in the half. The Railsplitters lead continued to grow as they outscored Jefferson 12-7 to take a 36-17 lead into the half. Along with their defense the rail splitters shot well from three as they ended the half shooting 50% from three point range. Overall Lincoln outscored Jefferson 25-7 and Curtis Gordon credited their defense. " The Defense was awesome, we locked them down and they couldn't score. We played a lot of help defense, we talked each other and we listened to what our coach told us."
In the third quarter, Lincoln's lead grew to as much as 25 points put Thomas Jefferson fought back to keep the lead under 20 points at many times. Jefferson fought hard to start a comeback but Lincoln was too strong in the fourth as they went on to win 82-64. Kclejuan Brown led Lincoln with 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Curtis Gordon scored 21 points while Jasiah Lewis and Michael Reid each scored 13 points. Brown earned MVP awards as well as an award for being the team's top student athlete.
Mixtape Provided by Overtime
[Overtime]Jefferson was led by Kyle Harding with 17 points and Marcus Burnett with with 12.
Lincoln claimed the city title and another chapter has closed on the Jefferson-Lincoln rivalry, but the Railsplitters aren't done as they have their eyes on the state federation tournament.
