B&G, Lincoln Meet Again in Brooklyn Borough Championships

February 9, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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By John Torenli

Brooklyn Eagle

Junior guard Wesley Myers put it best, moments after leading two-time defending Public School Athletic League champion Boys and Girls to a dramatic 72-65 overtime victory over Brooklyn rival Lincoln last Thursday.

“The level of intensity is so high that one mistake can mean the whole game,” Myers said after scoring all 18 of his points, including six during the extra session, after halftime.

While the Railsplitters may not have made any major errors for most of the hotly contested rivalry game, an ankle injury to sophomore guard Isaiah Whitehead in the third quarter was likely the main reason coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton’s squad surrendered a nine-point second-half advantage.

Lincoln was up three points as the final buzzer neared, but senior forward Leroy Fludd drew a critical foul on a 3-point attempt and calmly sank all three free throws to send the game into overtime.

From there, Myers unexpectedly took over, helping Boys and Girls avenge a 74-64 loss at Lincoln last month.

Kangaroos coach Ruth Lovelace, who insisted that Myers could become a “major Division I player,” had to relish the big win, but only for a moment as B&G will go right back at it with the ’Splitters this evening in the semifinal round of the Brooklyn Borough Championships.

Second-seeded Lincoln, still without Whitehead, stormed past Global Studies, 74-49, on Tuesday behind 21 points and 10 rebounds from senior forward Travis Charles.

Now, the ‘Splitters will have the ’Roos back on their home court for the third of what could potentially be four meetings this season, if both teams advance through the PSAL playoffs, which begin Feb. 15.

B&G continued its recent roll with an 87-49 blowout of Bedford Academy on Tuesday as Myers again played a big role, pouring in 21 points, grabbing seven boards and handing out six assists.

Senior Joel Angus, eager to secure a third straight title for the ‘Roos, dominated the action with 31 points and 14 rebounds.

While the Lincoln-B&G story unfolds, top-seeded Jefferson continued to state its case as not only the top team in our fair borough, but perhaps the entire city.

The Orange Wave, who took the Brooklyn AA title from Lincoln by beating Westinghouse on Thursday, cruised past Lafayette, 103-83, on Tuesday as sophomore guard Mike Watson Jr. scored 19 points.

Jefferson, which has won a season-high nine in a row, will host South Shore, which got past Brooklyn Collegiate Tuesday, in this evening’s other BBC semifinal.

The ‘Roos lost at Jefferson on Jan. 31 and Lincoln fell to the Wave two weeks earlier, allowing coach Lawrence Pollard’s squad to build momentum and confidence heading into the playoffs.

“The ultimate goal is a city championship,” Pollard noted after last week’s win over Westinghouse.

The BBC title game will be played Saturday.

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On the Downtown private school girls’ basketball scene, Brooklyn Friends earned a measure of revenge for an earlier loss to Elisabeth Irwin with an impressive 43-38 road win Tuesday.

Sophomore sensation Janna Jossainte poured in a game-high 28 points, including 15 in the second quarter, as the Blue Pride rolled to a third consecutive victory.

BFS will be at St. Francis College on Friday afternoon to take on non-league Brooklyn rival Bay Ridge Prep.

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In other local high school sports news, 15-year-old Brooklyn Tech student Gabriel Canaux of the New York Fencing Academy (NYFA) was one of only 13 Americans who competed in épée fencing at the prestigious international Vigor Challenge in Gothenborg, Sweden, last weekend. Brooklyn Techâ€™s Gabriel Canaux is emerging as a legitimate hopeful for the United States national fencing squad.

More than 700 athletes from over 15 countries, including Israel, Japan, France and Canada, participated in this year’s event, which consisted of an FIE Junior World Cup and a European Cadet Circuit.

Canaux, who has fenced for about four years, surprised many at Vigor Challenge with his exceptional talent.

Although he was one of the youngest competitors and went against fencers one or two years older than himself, he won three of his six initial bouts, and fell shy of capturing the other three by just one touch.

Advancing to elimination, Canaux continued to show his mettle by soundly beating higher-ranked Swedish fencer Rasmus Dejenfelt, 16, by 15-7.

Canaux then competed with French fencer Steeven Seloi, 16, who was seeded or ranked at 10.

After a tough but close fight, Gabriel lost to Seloi 15-10. Overall, Canaux finished 59th out of the top 151 male cadets in the world. It was his first attempt at international competition. Emboldened by his success, he aims to make the United States national team in 2013.

Canaux will try to keep the momentum rolling as he and other NYFA fencers Sophia Cheinitsky, Annie Morelli, Anna Brosgol and Skyler Chin represent the academy at the USA Junior Olympics next week.