By Dylan Butler
The way Skyler Khaleel sees it, the Cardozo boys’ basketball team made a statement Sunday in an 82-77 win over Lincoln in the Big Apple Invitational at a packed Gauchos Gym, even if the Railsplitters were without star Sebastian Telfair.
“We played the best that we could and we’ll see what happens when he comes back, we’re going to play him again,” the Cardozo senior forward said. “Now that we won, everyone’s going to respect Cardozo now. We’re not a pushover.”
Lincoln's highly-touted point guard was there, but watched from the bench still hobbled from a sprained ankle he suffered in the Railsplitters’ nationally televised victory over Florida's Edgewater Dec. 11.
Cardozo’s Vic Morris didn’t know until pre-game warm-ups that Telfair wasn’t going to play, when he saw the Louisville-bound guard walk across the floor in street clothes.
But that mattered little to the junior point guard.
“It didn't really matter to me either way,” Morris said of his showdown with Telfair. “We’ll probably see them in the semis or hopefully the championship. It will be tougher, much tougher (with Telfair).”
Morris finished with a game-high 28 points, including four three points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists.
His backcourt mate Nick Flagg had 21 points and three assists and along with Dwayne Johnson (12 points, four assists and six rebounds) were able to penetrate at will for easy layups.
“We proved ourselves today, we proved that we could play them and beat them,” said Flagg, who scored nine straight points during a key 13-0 run in the second quarter. “When (Telfair) comes back we’ll just have to beat them again.”
On a three-pointer by Flagg, Cardozo (11-1) led 75-59 with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter, but led by Canarsie transfer Eugene Lawrence and Jamel Jackson, who scored 22 points apiece, Lincoln (9-3) went on a 15-2 run to get within 77-74 with 1:31 left.
The Railsplitters, however, went 0-for-6 from the foul line in the final 1:01 and Khaleel, who finished with just four points and five rebounds, came up with a huge block on a Tone Pena putback attempt as the Judges held on for the win.
“That was about all I did good today,” Khaleel said.
It was a game some think may be a preview of the PSAL championship game, but Lincoln coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton said there are some big challenges still ahead in Brooklyn before the two teams are booked to play at Madison Square Garden.
“There’s too many teams in Brooklyn that are still good that are young right now,” Morton said, mentioning rival Grady as well as Boys & Girls and Benjamin Banneker. “I’m just concerned with the Brooklyn teams right now.”
A rematch, with Telfair expected to be in the lineup, is scheduled for Jan .11 at the Brooklyn Winter Classic at St. Francis College.
“We played hard, we played smart and ran some of the plays,” Cardozo coach Ron Naclerio said. “When we made a mistake, we just played through the mistake and we didn’t cry.”
Wheeler (Ga.) 84, Cardozo 67. Sharaud Curry scored 44 points and Mike Williams added 22 points for Wheeler (10-1) Saturday night at the Gauchos Gym. Theo Davis had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Flagg added 18 points for the Judges.
Cardozo 77, Boys & Girls 76. Morris had 22 points, Khaleel and Flagg added 15 points apiece and Dwayne Johnson had 10 points and seven assists for Cardozo Friday night at the Gauchos. Tyrell Cruz led Boys with a game-high 38 points.
Monsignor McClancy 87, Troy (Pa.) 67. The Crusaders were led by Will Borgolte’s 34 points in this semifinal win at the Coaches vs. Cancer Christmas Tournament in Elmira, N.Y. Nick Hamilton-Lopez added 21, while Stephen Wood contributed 15 for McClancy, which improved to 5-4.
St. John’s Prep 68, Archbishop Wood (Pa.) 47. The Red Storm’s Bryant Dunston led the way with a double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds, while blocking four shots. Serge Clement added 19 points and four assists as St. John's Prep improved to 6-1 with this first round win at the Benedictine Tournament in Richmond, Va.
Archbishop Molloy 84, Gate City (Va.) 46. The Stanners were led by Sundiata Gaines’ 33 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Vincent Falzone chipped in 12 points and eight boards in the non-league win for Molloy.
Monsignor McClancy 64, Elmira Free Academy 52. In first round action at the Coaches vs. Cancer Christmas Tournament, Hamilton-Lopez scored 20 points to lead the Crusaders to the win. Borgolte added 14, while Wood scored 10 points for McClancy, which improved to 4-4).
St. Francis Prep 72, Beach Channel 50. After falling behind by two after one, Prep stormed to a 32-10 halftime advantage in the Monsignor King Tournament. Bryan Geffen led with 28 points, followed by Andrew Cashin with 19. Arthur Robertson led the Dolphins with 24.
Holy Cross 77, Christ the King 60. The Knights opened up league play with a convincing 17-point win over the defending CHSAA state champions to move to 6-1 on the year overall last week.
— Anthony Bosco contributed to this story
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
