Dwayne (Tiny) Morton stood with his arms crossed nearly the entire fourth quarter.
Clearly unhappy, the Lincoln boys basketball coach watched his team unravel in the Brooklyn borough semifinals, losing 78-54 at Thomas Jefferson, one of the worst postseason losses for the Coney Island dynamo in recent years. For just the second time since the borough playoffs began eight years ago, the Railsplitters won’t be part of the final day, and their five-year reign atop Brooklyn is over.
“We got bullied; they bullied us,” Morton fumed. “Like a big brother beating up a little brother. I’m [ticked] off.”
Morton has plenty of reasons to be angry. Lincoln (16-9) was within 34-30 after a back-and-forth opening half, but didn’t show up for the third quarter. The Orange Wave beat the Railsplitters to seemingly every loose ball in the second half, forced turnovers with their press, and scored at will, from the perimeter and in the paint.
“We just brought our ‘A’ game and they laid down,” said Jefferson point guard Davontay Grace, who had 23 points and 15 assists. “We were the tougher team.”
Jefferson (19-7) outscored Lincoln by an astounding 54-24 in the second half. The lead grew to 56-41 after three and ballooned to a shocking 70-44 midway through the fourth quarter. Guards Shaquille Stokes (11 points) and Raymond O’Loughlin were each assessed technical fouls and forward Kamari Murphy was limited to eight points.
Morton said the lopsided result didn’t surprise him because his team is full of juniors with little playoff experience and he “knows Jefferson’s team” and “what they are capable of.”
“They’ve been around the track and they know what it takes to win a big game and we don’t,” Morton said. When asked if he has ever experienced such a performance, Morton said “never. It’s the personality of your players. I got a lot of new guys not used to my coaching. I usually bully teams. I don’t coach the way we played.”
The four-time defending champions have two weeks to rebound. The rehabilitation process starts Saturday in the Primetime Shootout in Trenton, N.J., against Middle Township (N.J.) at 1:30 p.m.
Lincoln did finish third in Brooklyn AA, the best division in the city, and has wins over Wings Academy, Boys & Girls and Jefferson on its resume, so its seed won’t be too low. Whether or not the Railsplitters respond, Morton isn’t so sure.
“I don’t know,” he said.