Boys and Girls’ Rashad Andrews scored 13 points in defeat. (Denis Gostev)
Isaiah Whitehead watched closely as Leroy (Truck) Fludd put up major numbers for Boys & Girls. He gritted his teeth as he heard everyone talk about the Boys & Girls star as a Player of the Year front-runner.
“I wanted to show I’m a candidate,” the sensational 6-foot-4 sophomore with scholarship offers from Syracuse, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and St. John’s said.
Mission accomplished.
In the season’s biggest game up to this point, Whitehead took center stage. He scored a game-high 21 points – seven more than the foul-plagued Fludd – and added six rebounds, six assists and three blocks in Lincoln’s impressive 74-64 victory over archrival Boys High in Coney Island yesterday, a rematch of last year’s city final featuring The Post’s top-ranked teams in its PSAL rankings.
The victory extends the Railsplitters lead in treacherous Brooklyn AA to two games over two-time defending city champion Boys & Girls and Thomas Jefferson with four league contests remaining.
“We definitely proved we’re the best team in the city,” Whitehead said.
The talented guard had plenty of help from his teammates. Da’Shawn Suber came off the bench with 12 big points and forwards Tafari Whittingham, Travis Charles and Rakim Lesane beat up the Kangaroos in the paint, combining for 32 points and 25 rebounds, and Lincoln coach Dwayne (Tiny) Morton went nine deep, getting production out of virtually his entire team.
“We played well – our entire team played well,” Lincoln coach Dwayne (Tiny) Morton said. “My rotation was great. My bench can all be starters.”
Whittingham, the gifted 6-foot-7 forward who transferred to Lincoln from Stratford in Connecticut in the fall, figured prominently in the second half. He scored six straight points as the Railsplitters (14-2, 10-0 Brooklyn AA) built an eight-point lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“We’re the bigger team, this is our home, we felt we could dominate down low,” said Whittingham, who had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Boys & Girls (11-2, 8-2) never got closer than four the rest of the way. St. Anthony of Jersey City transfer Rashad Andrews kept the Kangaroos close with 13 first-half points as Fludd went scoreless because of foul woes. Fludd scored 14 after the break, but Andrews was held scoreless.
“I thought it was more about our offense not being run, the guards dominating the ball,” Boys High coach Ruth Lovelace said. “Tyliek [Kimbrough] held onto it too much. He was trying to score. That hurt Rashad trying to score.”
Boys High did get to within 49-45 early in the fourth quarter, but Whitehead responded with a top-of-the-key jumper and set up Suber for an open jump shot. In one span later in the quarter, Whitehead had a steal and set up Suber for a layup, blocked a shot, sank three free throws and hit a pull-up jumper.
“Isaiah carried us a lot,” Suber said. “He’s one of the main reasons we won this game,”
Suber was another. The 6-foot guard, who left New Jersey powerhouse St. Patrick when coach Kevin Boyle bolted for the job at Montverde Academy (Fla.), had his best game of the season. He sank a pair of big 3-pointers in the first half and also had five assists.
“In big games big players step up,” he said. “It was an intense game – I played in games like this in Jersey.”
Suber added: “This gives me a lot of confidence. I have to keep up.”
That’s music to Morton’s ears. While his players talked about the being the best in the city, the longtime coach said he isn’t concerned with a mythical title. He was pleased with the win – “it’s a confidence boost,” he said – but is more worried about being No. 1 at the end of March.
“Right now it’s a rollercoaster,” he said. “I want to stay on top.”