It's a three-peat for Lance Stephenson and Lincoln.
Stephenson scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead the Railsplitters to an 88-57 victory Sunday over Boys & Girls of Brooklyn at Madison Square Garden.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Stephenson added eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
"If we get four (PSAL titles in a row), we get four," Stephenson said. "I'm just trying to win every game."
"I got chills," said Lincoln coach Dwayne "Tiny" Morton in reference to Stephenson's exploits. "We all got chills that it's the second coming of Sebastian (Telfair). Too bad he can't go straight from high school (to the NBA).
"The bigger the stage, the better he plays," added recruiting analyst Tom Konchalski. "That's always been the case."
Junior guard Darwin "Buddha" Ellis added 13 points for Lincoln (27-4), which won its third straight PSAL title and sixth in seven years. Senior forward Justin Greene tallied 12 points and junior forward James Padgett, who has interest from Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, Providence and Manhattan, added 11 points and nine rebounds as Lincoln out-rebounded Boys & Girls 44-20.
The two teams split a pair of PSAL games this season, a year after Lincoln beat Boys & Girls, 77-50, in the 2007 PSAL final, a game that was marred by a brawl that spilled onto the Garden floor.
"It's always a decent game when we meet them here, but when we play them at our house or their house, it's a tough game," Stephenson said. "Every time we meet them here, I think they're nervous. I don't know."
Lincoln advanced to defend its New York State Federation championship, where it will play Bishop Maginn on Saturday. The winner will face Sylven Landesberg and Holy Cross for the title on March 30.
Clayton Sterling paced the Kangaroos with 14 points and David Imes added 12 points and nine rebounds. Rutgers-bound guard Pat Jackson, who has played on a badly sprained left ankle since January, managed just seven points on 2-of-5 shooting (0-for-2 from 3) and one rebound with Rutgers head coach Fred Hill and assistant Craig Carter looking on. Seton Hall coaches Derm Player and Scott Adubato, who are recruiting Stephenson and Padgett, were also in the house, as was Spike Lee.
Stephenson, considered the top junior in the nation by many, showed the full array of his talents, scoring on layups, pullups and 3-pointers, often sticking out his tongue in Jordanesque style after a basket.
"I want to destroy the team, I want to get this game over with so my other teammates can get in and score a lot of points," Stephenson said, by way of explaining his fast early start. "Next year some of the kids on the bench are going to be starting."
Stephenson scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half when the Railsplitters took a 42-21 lead. Ellis added 10 and Lincoln out-rebounded Boys & Girls 24-15.
Stephenson hit 3-pointer and a layup to push the lead to 51-23 early in the third.
Stephenson, the subject of a reality series called "Born Ready," is being recruited by numerous major programs, including USC, Georgetown, Memphis, Kansas, Indiana, North Carolina and Seton Hall.
Morton said he thought Stephenson was ready for the NBA after he dropped 43 points last year on St. Patrick of Elizabeth.
"If the situation is where he can go to school, he should go to school," Morton said. "But if it's a situation where he needs to go to the NBA, I would go both ways, depending on the individual."
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Check back here later this week for a story on Pat Jackson.
(Photo courtesy Daily News)
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