Hassan Martin with a dunk in Harlem’s 84-78 win over Queens. (Robert Cole)
Brooklyn lived up to its basketball-rich reputation Saturday afternoon.
Throwing one big-name star after another at The Bronx, Brooklyn rolled to a closer-than-it-was 94-81 victory in the Battle of the Borough semifinals at Rivington Court on the Lower East Side. It will face Harlem in the final Sunday at 4 p.m.
PSAL Brooklyn AA stars Isaiah Whitehead (Lincoln), Jaquan (Son Son) Lynch (Jefferson) and Leroy (Truck) Fludd (Boys & Girls) did much of the damage, combining for 56 points. Brooklyn’s lineup was so deep Bishop Loughlin star Khadeen Carrington and South Shore duo Shamiek Sheppard and Terrence Samuel came off the bench to overwhelm The Bronx.
“It wasn’t really any competition,” said the FIU-bound Lynch, who had 14 points. “[Sunday] hopefully is a good game.”
Whitehead, nicknamed “I’m a Bad Man” and “Young Sidney Moncrief” by MC Joe Pope, was by far the best player on the floor, and Chris McCullough (team-high 15 points), one of the nation’s top prospects in the Class of 2014, was on the hardwood court. Whitehead poured in a game-high 27 points, shredding The Bronx from the perimeter — he hit four 3-pointers in the first half — and with flashy moves in the paint.
“The Bronx was talking a lot of trash on social media,” said Whitehead, who is being heavily recruited by Florida, Arizona, St. John’s, Iowa State and Rutgers among others. “Me and my Brooklyn guys took it to them hard.”
Whitehead’s status has recently dropped in national rankings. At one time a consensus top 15 players, he’s now listed in the 40’s by a few publications.
“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “When I play against top players ranked ahead me I kill them. I guess it’s because I’m from New York. They don’t really rank New York players high anymore.”
With Whitehead leading the way, Brooklyn was never in danger. Lynch, the outspoken Jefferson standout, expects Sunday to be a rerun.
“We’re the best team, hands down,” Lynch said. “We’re going to win it 100 percent, especially if we play like did today.”
Harlem blows lead, regains it and knocks off Queens: Harlem, the defending Battle of the Borough champions, blew an 11-point, second-half lead but rallied late for an 84-78 victory over Queens.
Satellite Academy’s Larry Beckett scored 21 points and Curtis forward Hassan Martin added 16. Archbishop Stepinac guard Josh James followed with nine points, including a few clutch baskets late. Holy Cross’ Marquise Moore led Queens with 22 points, Pathways forward Jordan Washington had 13 and Archbishop Molloy rising junior C.J. Davis had 12.
The Harlem team is an interesting mix and much of its team isn’t actually from the area, from James, who hails from Greenburgh, N.Y., Bronx native Tyler Wilson of Cardinal Hayes and Staten Island’s Martin. The 6-foot-7 Martin had a big day, early and late, finishing around the hoop and protecting it as well.
“There’s a connection you don’t know about. There’s a door in Harlem that takes you from Harlem to Staten Island. We can’t show anybody that,” joked Harlem coach Dwayne Mitchell, the former Rice coach who will run the Scanlan program this winter. “The main thing I like about Hassan is he lets you coach him. He makes eye contact, he listens and he’s unselfish. He has a bright future.”