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‘roos have plenty of hop at 10-0 – Railsplitters on track and in the hunt, too

By Simon Chen

In the best basketball division in the borough of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn “AA” Division combines the powerhouses of Lincoln, Banneker, Canarsie, Grady, and Boys & Girls. But only three of these teams have playoff contention heading into the regents week break when Harcourt action doesn’t return to action until Tuesday, January 30. Until then, the Boys & Girls Kangaroos still sits atop the division with a 10-0 record and a half game lead above the 2005-2006 defending PSAL Champions Lincoln Railsplitters, who are at 10-1. But an intriguing match up, coming back from the break, is the battle for first in the division on January 30 at Lincoln. Earlier in the season, it was a game to remember when these two powerhouses play one other at Boys & Girls. On December 12, the Kangaroos edged the Railsplitters by one, 61-60 at home. Another game with playoff implications is a January 30 game featuring the 7-3 Canarsie Chiefs invading the South Shore to face the Vikings at South Shore High School. Last time, these two schools faced each other was on December 14 when the Chiefs blew out the Vikes, 68-48 at home. Another team jockeying for playoff positioning is the Jefferson Orange Wave, who current sits at 5-6 with three more games to play. Wins for this Wave team is extremely crucial as a .500 record or better can mean a playoff berth for Jefferson. But the Wave’s schedule is a tough task as they face Canarsie, at home, and Boys & Girls, on the road, and their season will conclude with a tilt with Banneker on the road. The Wave can easily fall short of the playoffs, if they don’t hold their destiny in their hands with at least two wins in order to clinch a playoff berth. In their closest margin of victory of the 2006-2007 season, the Lincoln Railsplitters derailed the Jefferson Orange Wave by four at Jefferson. The Railsplitters came out strong by scoring 18-first quarter points and 23-second quarter points and led at halftime, 41-35. Lincoln continued the trend by keeping up their six point led by scoring 21-third quarter points to go up, 62-51. But the Orange Wave began chipping away at the deficit in the final 8 minutes of play. Although they scored a game high 29-points in the final frame, it proved not to be enough as the Railsplitters improved to 4-1 on the road while their record increases to 9-1 on the season. The Orange Wave’s record slips to .500, as they go 5-5. In the lost for Jefferson, guard Keith Spellman notches 20 points, six rebounds, and seven rebounds. Leading Lincoln was forward Justin Greene, who scored 18 points, snagged down 12 rebounds, and dished out a lone assist. In the blowout of the week, the Canarsie Chiefs clipped the Grady Falcons at Canarsie by 24. The game actually started out with Grady having a slim one point lead, 16-15 against the Chiefs. But the Chiefs dug their nails right into the Falcons by scoring 31 points in the second quarter and led by eight, 46-34 at the half. After the explosive second quarter by the Chiefs, they turned back as they lit up the scoreboard for 27 fourth quarter points to nail the coffin. Leading the Chiefs was guard/forward Nathaniel Lester, who clocked in with 23 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. In the defeat, Grady’s guard Tyief Thompson contributed 15 points, three rebounds, and a lone assist. The defeat setup back the Falcons to 3-7 while the Chiefs improved to 7-2. Last season, the Benjamin Banneker Warriors were getting geared up for a run at the PSAL title but this season, there getting geared up to win a regulation game. The lone win that the Warriors have to their record was a Robeson forfeit besides this, the Warriors have been on a nine game losing streak including this defeat against the Vikings at Banneker. Leading the Vikings was guard/forward Sharif Mohammed, who netted 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds on the afternoon. With the win, the Vikings keep their playoff hopes alive at 5-5 while Banneker is dropped to 1-9. Despite an offensive onslaught by Canarsie Chiefs’ guard/forward Nathaniel Lester, it proved not to be enough as Railsplitters derailed Canarsie at Lincoln. Lester, clocked in a season high 30 points, eight rebounds, and three rebounds in the lost cause. Leading Lincoln was guard Lance Stephenson, who netted 22 points, four rebounds, and six assists on the afternoon. The Chiefs had a strong start scoring 14-first quarter points and led in the opening frame by one, 14-13. But Canarsie slowly allowed Lincoln to climb back in the second quarter by allowing 12 points, to knot the game at 25 heading into halftime. But the Railsplitters would begin to pouch on the Chiefs, by scoring 19 points in the third quarter and 21 points in the fourth quarter. With the victory in hand, the Railsplitters improve to 10-1, just percentage points behind the Boys & Girls Kangaroos, who are 10-0 and sit just a half game out of first place. The loss drops the floundering Canarsie Chiefs, three games out of first place at 7-3 with three games to go. An 18-point third quarter powers the Vikings through rough waters as their playoff hopes stay alive with three to play at South Shore. The Vikings were actually trailing at the half, 25-21 to the Orange Wave. But an 18-point three quarter and 12-point fourth quarter lifted the Vikes past an offensively sound Wave team. Leading South Shore was center Charles Joseph, who contributed 16 points, 17 rebounds, and one assist. With another impressive performance was forward/center Kante Salif, who added 12 points and nine rebounds of his own. South Shore, with the victory, improves to 6-5 and keeps their playoff hopes alive. On the other hand, the Orange Wave is demoted 5-6 with its playoff hopes taking a major blow with three games to play in the regular season. In the thumping of the week, the Boys & Girls blew out the Grady Falcons at Grady by 34. The Falcons seemed extremely sluggish coming out of the gates by allowing the Kangaroos to score 27 points for a 27-13 lead at the end of one quarter. In the second quarter, Boys & Girls poured on 20 more points and increased their lead at halftime to 15 by the count of 47-32. The Kangaroos slaughtered the Falcons by lighting up 24 in the third quarter and 19 more in the fourth quarter. Leading the thumping was Kangaroos’ guard Frederick Nixon, who netted 23 points, three rebounds, and six assists. With the win, Boys & Girls goes on to 10-0, keeping their perfect, undefeated record and first place rights intact but not by much. Lincoln’s defeat over the Chiefs cut the Kangaroos’ first lead to a mere half game. Unfortunately, the defeat drops the Falcons to 3-8 and officially eliminates them out of playoff contention with four games to go.