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By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
East New York rejoice!
Top-seeded Jefferson ended its 62-year wait for a city title with a convincing 90–61 victory over fourth-seeded and heated rival Abraham Lincoln in the Public School Athletic League boys’ basketball final at Madison Square Garden on March 12.
The community has been on Orange Wave coach Lawrence “Bud” Pollard through four previous title game losses to finally deliver.
“I’m happy,” Pollard said. “I’m tired of people talking about 1954. I don’t know what happened in 1954, but I know right now, 2016 we are champs.”
Jefferson’s stars left no room for heartbreak only for tears of joy. St. John’s-bound guard Shamorie Ponds scored a game-high 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out five assists and collected six steals. He shared most valuable player honor with childhood friend Rasheem Dunn. The St. Francis College-commit poured in 23 points and grabbed five rebounds.
The two, who won a junior-varsity title as freshman, broke down during a long embrace after receiving their award.
“We told each other we love each other, us know knowing that we won’t be playing together next year,” Dunn said. “That’s my brother since I was young. We have a lot of chemistry together.”
The Orange Wave (24–8) won the game in the third quarter with an electrify 20–4 run that put them up 50–29 with 3:35 to play in the game. Dunn scored the final six points of the spurt, including a put back of his own miss to cap it.
“They never recovered from that,” Pollard said. “That was the death blow right there.”
It was part of complete effort for Jefferson from start to finish that ended with Ponds electrifying his future home with seven straight points in a minute span in the fourth to put Jefferson up 83–55 with 2:45 to go.
“I was just feeling it so I just let it go,” Ponds said.
The Orange Wave had four players in double figures, including Malachi Faison. The junior forward posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds and added five steals. Curtis Smith netted 16 points. Pollard challenged Faison to get back to his level of play from the start of the season and got the response he was looking for.
“He promised me he was going to be the beast,” Pollard said.
Lincoln, which beat Jefferson 87–77 in the borough final, looked like a different team without Rakym Felder and lost its second=best ball handler in Tyler Bourne to foul trouble in the second quarter. The Railsplitters (23–8), known for its defense and transition offense, only scored two points on the break.
Cahiem Brown tallied 21 points and grabbed 11 boards. Michael Reid had 15 points and six boards and Donald Cannon Flores chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Morton, who has had a friendly and very public rivalry with Pollard, congratulated his counterpart after his struggles to win a crown. Lincoln beat Jefferson in the final in 2013.
“They came out a little bit more motivated,” Morton said. “I call those guys the Buffalo Bills, so they kind of wanted this one more than our guys.”
Pollard, who broke up a bit while behind handed the trophy, said the emotion of losing was far stronger than how he felt finally winning, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t enjoying it.
“When Tiny was shaking hands he said, ‘It’s about time Bozo,’ ” Pollard said. “I guess it is the Bozo’s time today.”
The Orange Wave do not want to stop here. Pollard said he is greed and wants a state Federation title as well, starting with a semifinal against Long Island Lutheran on March 18 at the Times Union Center in Albany. Until then they will soak in the history. There is a new banner to hang.
“It was just a lot of emotions,” Pond said. “We said we were going to get [a title].”