Brooklyn Boro

Jefferson survives battle with Bedford Academy, faces Lincoln in Boro finals

February 13, 2015 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Shamorie Ponds scored 18 points in the first half against Bedford Academy, but he got into foul trouble and only scored seven in the second when Bedford Academy nearly pulled out an unlikely comeback. Photo by Rob Abruzzese.
Share this:

The Jefferson Orange Wave are supposed to be one of the top teams in the city, but on Thursday night they were put to the test by the Bedford Academy Panthers, an A division team. In a hard-fought game, Jefferson came away with a 96-82 victory in East New York.

“Survive and advance,” said Jefferson’s head coach Bud Pollard. “We went up by 18, but they weren’t going to let us blow them out, they’re too tough. Our guys thought that they were going to come in here and lay down. They made us fight. They made us play tonight. They weren’t going to let us beat them by 20, they competed and gave us a good game.”

Jefferson came out strong in the first quarter. Shamorie Ponds scored 12 points and the Orange Wave led 28-19 after one. Ponds scored six in the second and Davere Creighton added 10 to make it 50-37 at halftime.

Both Ponds and Creighton found themselves in foul trouble in the second half, though, and that opened the door for Bedford Academy. Anthony “Mook” Munson scored 19 points and Trevis Wigfall scored 13 in the second half as the Panthers cut an 18-point lead down to six midway through the fourth quarter.

Bedford Academy couldn’t keep up its attack, however, and started getting sloppy in the final four minutes. Too many fouls gave Jefferson 16 opportunities from the free-throw line and the Orange Wave hit 11 of those shots, finishing the game with a 14-point cushion.

“That was a good game,” Ponds said afterward. “Lots of intensity, lots of fight. I expected it to be tough. I thought that this could be our hardest game. They brought their crowd, had a good time, and they played well.”

Despite the outcome, Jefferson walked off the court a bit dejected while Bedford Academy’s confidence was soaring.

“This was a very big game for us,” Munson said. “We wanted this from the start of the season ever since we lost to them at Dean Street [over the summer]. We knew they were a good team. We gave it our all and just fell short. We were treating it like [this was our championship].”

Meanwhile, the usually self-assured Pollard refused to predict a win in the Boro championship on Saturday.
“When you have a rivalry game, a game like Lincoln, it’s not about the Xs and Os, it’s about who wants it, which coach wants it, which player wants it,” Pollard said. “I don’t think our guys want it. I don’t know what our guys want. Their chance is as good as anybody else’s, but I don’t know.”

* * *

The Lincoln Railsplitters beat Boys and Girls High School 60-50 in a come-from-behind victory in Coney Island Thursday night to set up a Boro finals match against Jefferson at Queens College on Saturday.

Freshman Tyler Bourne and senior Ezekiel Charles both struggled in the first half, as Boys High led Lincoln 18-7 after one and 25-20 at halftime. Luckily for Lincoln, they each turned their games around in the second half and combined for 29 second half points. Jahlil Tripp also played a big role with 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Charles also played outstanding defense against Boys High’s star guard Gianni Ford, holding him to just six points. Jamie Killings scored 20 points, but no other Boys High player scored in double figures.

The Boro finals matchup will be the third time Lincoln and Jefferson face each other this season. Jefferson won the first game in East New York back in December and Lincoln took the second game in Coney Island during the final game of the regular season.

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment