by Alex Schwartz

In a matchup of teams that have already met this season, Lincoln (NY) and Westchester (CA) are facing off here at the Sovereign Bank Arena. Led by USC-commit Dwayne Polee '10, Jordin Mayes '10, Kareem Jamar '10, and Dominique O'Connor '09, the boys from the Golden State won the teams' first matchup out at the City of Palms event. Lincoln is led by Lance Stephenson '09, Maryland-bound James Padgett '09, St. Francis (NY)-pledge Darwin "Buddha" Ellis '09, and Shaq Stokes '11, and is coming off a tough loss to St. Patrick's (NJ) last night at the Nike Super Six. The game is well underway, so I'll fill you in.

6:38pm- With 5:42 left in the second quarter, Westchester is up 24-22.

6:41pm- Lincoln has fallen behind 28-22, and the clock is showing 4:12 left in the half.

6:42pm- A monster dunk from James Padgett '09 has made it 28-24.

6:43pm- After Lance Stephenson '09 scored to make it a two-point game, Denzel Douglas '10 responded, putting Westchester up 30-26.

6:44pm- After grabbing an offensive board, Padgett converted a third-chance opportunity for Lincoln and got fouled, but missed his free throw. It's 30-28.

6:45pm- A deuce from Jordin Mayes '10 has made it a four-point game again, with under 2:30 left in the half.

6:46pm- Dominique O'Connor '09 hit a tough shot for the Comets to push Westchester's lead up to a half dozen.

6:48pm- Two free throws and a layup from Stephenson made it 34-32, but a jam from Dwayne Polee '10 made it a four-point game yet again.

6:49pm- Shaq Stokes '11 hit the first of two at the line, and although the second one fell through, it did not count due to a lane violation.

6:50pm- It's now halftime and the Comets of Westchester have a 36-33 advantage.

7:02pm- A deuce from Shaq Stokes to open the second half's scoring has made it a one-point game, 36-35.

7:03pm- Back-to-back threes by Mayes gave Westchester a seven-point cushion, but a deuce by Padgett cut the lead to five, 42-37, with under 6:30 left in the quarter.

7:05pm- After a bucket by Lincoln, Mayes hit back-to-back threes. His four triples account for all of Westchester's points this half, and have given the Comets a 48-39 lead.

7:08pm- With 4:10 to go in the third quarter, the Railsplitters trail 50-40.

7:12pm- We've got three minutes to go in the quarter and Lincoln is down 52-44 after a trey by Darwin "Buddha" Ellis '09.

7:14pm- O'Connor hit a pair of free throws—he missed the second, but Lincoln was called for a violation and he took advantage—were answered by a deuce from Stokes. Polee then scored an old-fashioned three points to make it 57-46.

7:17pm- Davon Walls '09 hit a pair from the charity stripe to bring the deficit down to single digits, 57-48. Kareem Jamar '10 then hit the second of two free throws for the Comets, who now lead by 10.

7:18pm- A Westchester deuce was answered by a trey from Larazo Martinez '11 for Lincoln, making it 60-51 through three quarters.

7:26pm- With 5:30 left in the game, Westchester is up 66-55.

7:28pm- Kareem Jamar just picked up his fourth foul, sending Ellis to the line, where he completed a three-point play.

7:31pm- Lance Stephenson, who has been relatively quiet this evening, just connected on two free throws to make it a six-point game, 67-61, with about four minutes to go in regulation.

7:33pm- Stephenson just took the ball strong to the cup and finished, slicing the deficit down to four, 67-63. At the other end, Mayes hit a couple of free throws to making it 69-63 with about 3:30 to play.

7:35pm- Ellis was called for his fourth foul, putting O'Connor at the stripe with 3:20 to go, where he made both shots. Westchester leads 71-63.

7:36pm- The clock is showing 3:07, and the Railsplitters are down by six, 71-65.

7:38pm- O'Connor hit a pair from the line, after being fouled by Stokes, his fourth. Padgett answered with a deuce, so it's now 73-67.

7:40pm- Padgett fouled O'Connor with 1:46 left in the game. That was the big man's fourth foul, meaning that he, Ellis, and Stokes are all one foul away from being out of contest.

7:41pm- O'Connor made the first of two shots and Stokes hit one of two at the other end. The score is 74-68 in favor of the Comets.

7:42pm- With 1:37 left in the game, O'Connor hit the first of two shots to make it a seven-point game. Lincoln then called a timeout with 1:29 to go, trailing 75-68.

7:44pm- Stokes scored with just under 80 seconds left, cutting the deficit to five. Darwin Ellis had previously fouled out of the game.

7:45pm- Stephenson picked up his fourth foul with 56.6 to go, putting O'Connor at the line, where he drained both shots. At the other end, Stephenson missed a tough off-balance shot, but Padgett got the board and was fouled with 46.7 to go.

7:46pm- Padgett made the second of two free throws to cut Westchester's lead down to a half dozen. Dominique O'Connor then hit a pair for free throws, so it's an eight-point game.

7:48pm- Stephenson missed a shot, but tipped in his own missed, and was fouled. He hit his free throw, so it's now 79-75.

7:49pm- Jordin Mayes hit a couple at the line, and Stephenson then hit two for Lincoln, making it 81-76 with under 20 seconds to go.

7:50pm- Stephenson answered a pair of free throws from Mayes with a crowd-pleasing dunk.

7:51pm- The final score is 85-78 Westchester.

7:52pm- The recipient of the MVP award from Lincoln was James Padgett, who had 23 points. Jordin Mayes scored 31 points en route to MVP honors for Westchester.

8:22pm- I caught up with Jordin Mayes and Dwayne Polee after the game, as well as Lance Stephenson earlier in the evening.