PSAL boys basketball rankings

Cardozo takes over top spot from Lincoln and Curtis replaces Robeson

By ZACH BRAZILLER

Cardozo put Brooklyn on notice Sunday night with its impressive 57-49 victory: the road to Madison Square Garden isn’t all about East New York, Coney Island and Bed Stuy. We were in attendance, and took note as well: the win enabled the Judges to vault over Lincoln and preside atop The Post’s PSAL boys basketball rankings for the first time. They could hold onto that spot for a while.

Elsewhere, Robeson’s loss to Curtis knocked the Eagles out while enabling Curtis to return and Wings Academy, winners of five straight, to move up, too. Yes, the first week back after the holidays was full of action.

1. Cardozo (9-2) (Last week: 2)

On paper, the Judges are the best team in the city. They are big, deep and talented. Cardozo nearly beat Catholic powers Bishop Loughlin and Christ the King, losing by a combined four points, and knocked off Boys & Girls Sunday night by eight. That wasn’t even the Bayside school’s ‘A’ game. The rest of our top 10 – and everyone else, in fact – should be on notice: Ron Naclerio’s kids are for real.

Next: @ St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.) (Jan. 12, 6 p.m.)

2. Lincoln (9-5) (1)

The Railsplitters followed up their best win of the year – at Thomas Jefferson last Tuesday – by losing at South Shore, easily their worst defeat at this point, on Thursday. The Vikings are young, albeit talented, but that’s a game Lincoln has to win, especially since it was up 15 at the half.

Next: Grady (Jan. 12, 5 p.m.)

3. Thomas Jefferson (11-5) (3)

If the Orange Wave is going to be a serious player come March, they will have to learn how to close out games. Last Tuesday’s loss at home to Lincoln was a perfect example. Jefferson led throughout, by as many as 12, only to fall apart in the fourth quarter, basically giving away the precious showdown. It was eerily similar to an overtime loss earlier in the year to Bishop Loughlin. There is no doubt the East New York school misses sharp-shooting guard Thaddeus Hall, who is academically ineligible, but there is more than enough talent there to get to the Garden.

Next: @ Robeson (Jan. 12, 5 p.m.)

4. Boys & Girls (10-4) (4)

Boys & Girls is still searching for that trademark victory. The High doesn’t have to look any further than Thursday’s trip into East New York when it visits Jefferson. A win there isn’t only important as a confidence booster, but it would elevate the Kangaroos past the Orange Wave in Brooklyn AA. Boys & Girls better not look ahead, not with Transit Tech coming to Bed Stuy Tuesday. The Express has already knocked off Jefferson and is only gaining steam recently.

5. Wadleigh (10-3) (5)

If the nearly three-week layoff between games bothered Malik Thomas, he had a funny way of showing it. The Boston University-bound forward has come out for the second half red-hot, averaging 23 points and 15 rebounds in easy victories over Thurgood Marshall Academy and James Monroe.

Next: West 50th Street Campus (Jan. 12, 5 p.m.)

6. Transit Tech (11-4) (7)

The Express is playing as good as anyone in the PSAL these days: winners of six straight and eight of nine. Defensive-minded and patient, Transit Tech has knocked off Jefferson and Robeson in that stretch, the only loss an eight-point setback to Lincoln. Junior Anthony Prescott has emerged, finding an even balance between scoring and point guard duties.

Next: @ No. 4 Boys & Girls (Jan. 12, 5 p.m.)

7. Wings Academy (10-3) (9)

The Wings have shown slow but steady progress. There have been disappointing losses, but inspiring victories have followed the setbacks, none more so than last Tuesday’s 69-61 win over Kennedy. Even if Naquan Pierce, the Knights’ all-everything point guard, was missing, it was yet another step in the right direction for Wings, who have won five in a row.

Next: @ Truman (Jan. 12, 5 p.m.)

8. John F. Kennedy (10-2) (6)

Jeffrey Short, you’re work load has just increased – exponentially. For, as long as point guard Naquan Pierce is academically ineligible, Short won’t just have to be Kennedy’s leading scorer, but its top playmaker, too. Oh, and with forward Muhammed Ahmed also on the sideline because of poor grades, the 6-foot-4 wing has to grab even more rebounds and make his presence felt in the paint. There’s no truth to the rumor he will also sweep the floors and clean the bathrooms – not yet at least.

Next: Lehman (Jan. 12, 5 p.m.)

9. McKee/Staten Island Tech (14-4) (10)

The perimeter-oriented Sea Gulls are tough to figure out. One week, they knock off Curtis, and days later fall to St. Peter's. MSIT has played a tough schedule, which thus far has included Robeson, Wadleigh and John F. Kennedy.

Next: CSI/McCown (Jan. 14, 6 p.m.)

10. Curtis (16-2) (NR)

The Warriors are defined by the wave of big men they can throw at the opposition, each one more skilled and mobile than the next. Yet, it’s a 5-foot-10 guard – senior Jonathan Annan – that is tied to their success. He is a distributor first, but can also light it up when needed. Robeson learned that the hard way, as he produced one big basket after another in Curtis’ 58-54 victory on Sunday.

Next: @ New Dorp Jan. 13, 6 p.m.

New: Curtis (16-2)

Dropped out: Robeson (12-5)

On the bubble: Bedford Academy (11-4), Eagle Academy (7-3), FDR (15-3), Forest Hills (8-6), Francis Lewis (14-2), Gompers (9-6), Robeson (12-5) South Bronx (15-1), and Thomas Edison (8-7)