Lincoln players celebrate their victory over Cardozo. (Denis Gostev)
Lincoln’s Shaquille Stokes scored a game-high 22 points. (Denis Gostev)
For the first time this year, Dwayne (Tiny) Morton looked at Isaiah Whitehead and saw a wet-behind-the-ears freshman. Showing nerves on a big stage, the standout was forcing shots and committing turnovers. At one juncture, the Lincoln coach considering pulling the neophyte, but in the back of his head was Whitehead’s penchant for fourth-quarter brilliance.
“He played well the whole year, I wasn’t gonna sit him on the bench because he had some jitters,” Morton said.
The non-move helped Lincoln get back to the Garden, the Coney Island dynamo’s home away from home, after a one-year absence.
Whitehead scored four of Lincoln’s last six points, collected the clinching rebound and flung it down court before he could be fouled as time ran out in the top-seeded Railsplitters’ memorable, 56-54 PSAL Class A semifinal victory over No. 4 Cardozo at CCNY.
Down 53-30 with 2:13 to go, Whitehead snuck in for a tip-in of a Kamari Murphy miss, then sank two clutch free throws with 19 seconds remaining to push a one-point lead to three. Cardozo had a chance to tie when Chris Gayot got to the offensive rebound of his own miss, but Tyrel Hunt’s runner caromed off the rim, Whitehead chased it down, and rolled the ball toward midcourt before he could be wrapped up.
“I did feel nervous, but I came through and got the victory,” said Whitehead, who collected seven points, six rebounds and four steals altogether. “I saw the ball coming at me and noticed there were two seconds on the clock, so I just threw it to the center of the court.”
It was a climactic end to a dramatic victory for Lincoln (28-2), which led by as many as seven points in the first half but trailed much of the final quarter. Senior Shaquille Stokes scored 18 of his 22 points before the break as Lincoln took a 33-28 lead into halftime. The Railsplitters, though, struggled to find a rhythm on offense in the second half, in part because of Whitehead’s struggles, but also the Judges’ length in the perimeter as well as the paint.
After consecutive Jermaine Lawrence (team-high 16 points) baskets, including a highlight-reel tip-dunk in which he acrobatically leapt over Murphy (14 points, 17 rebounds) and Jordan Dickerson, Cardozo held a 53-49 advantage with 3:17 to go. Forgetting his nerves, Whitehead morphed into the poised and cool-under-pressure standout roundly considered New York City’s best freshman. He scored on the follow, got fouled, made the free throws and plucked the rebound away from several orange jerseys.
“I’ve seen enough of the kid, he’s gonna be unbelievable,” Morton said. “I’ve had a couple of pros, so I should know a little about basketball.”
In addition to Whitehead, Morton said Lincoln prevailed for two reasons: free-throw shooting and defense. Whereas Cardozo (28-3) missed 12 free throws in 26 attempts, Lincoln was 10-of-14 including their last four in the fourth quarter. Additionally, sophomore Shaquille Davis completely shutdown Cardozo star Shelton Mickell in the fourth quarter, denying the standout senior, who had 10 points entering the frame, the ball.
“That’s the reason he was in the game,” Morton said.
The win sets up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown pitting Lincoln against Boys & Girls, last year’s city champion. The two bitter rivals, who faced off at MSG in 2008 and 2009, met twice this year and Lincoln prevailed on both occasions.
“That’s what the fans want: Lincoln against The High,” Stokes said. “That’s what we want. One more step.”
