Friday, Dec. 30, 2011: Lincoln advances to Calif. tourney final

   Leading off today: Sophomore Isaiah Whitehead scored 26 points and handed out eight assists, and Travis Charles contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds as Abraham Lincoln, top-ranked in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association, beat two-time MaxPreps Holiday Classic champ Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) 81-70 on Thursday in Palm Springs, Calif.

   Ian Vasquez chipped in with 14 points, nailing four 3-pointers in the third quarter.

   It moved the Railsplitters into the Exhibition Division final on Friday vs. Santa Ana., Calif., Mater Dei, ranked sixth nationally by USA Today. The Mater Dei lineup includes UNLV-bound Katin Reinhardt and Colorado recruit Xavier Johnson, making the East Coast vs. West Coast matchup even more attractive.

   "We'll talk about it," Whitehead told MaxPreps. "We want to show people out here what East Coast basketball has to offer. It's a big game for us. They're No. 4 or 6 or whatever in the country and we're trying to move up."

   The final is sure to evoke memories of the schools' epic final in the 1994 Torrey Pines Tournament in California. Mater Dei won 92-77 despite 48 points by Stephon Marbury to offset 45 by Shea Cotton.

   Calhoun shines: Christ the King advanced to the STOP-DWI Holiday Classic championship game in Binghamton with a 76-65 win vs. Wings Academy. The Royals pulled away with a 30-19 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter.

   UConn recruit Omar Calhoun scored a game-high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting and Isaiah Lewis followed with 21 points and Jon Severe scored 19. On defense, Calhoun was matched against Wings star Justin Jenkins, who finished with 25 points but was held largely in check down the stretch.

   After Christ the King’s early-season loss to Boys & Girls in which Leroy "Truck" Fludd scored 23, Calhoun spoke with coach Joe Arbitello about guarding the opposition’s top threat. "I wanted to make sure I’m guarding that guy,” Calhoun told The New York Post. “If anyone’s trying to make a name against us, I want to make sure I get him.”

   More hoops: Kyron Allen converted a three-point play with 1:25 left to carry Aquinas, ranked fourth in Class AA, to a 60-55 win over Class A No. 3 Rochester Franklin in the final of the Mike Dianetti Tournament. Phil Valenti had 23 points and 16 rebounds for the winners.

   English on the move: Former Manhasset lacrosse attackman Connor English has left the University of Virginia and enrolled at Cornell, where he will be eligible immediately, Newsday reported.

   English scored a Long Island-best 81 goals in his senior year at Manhasset, including nine in a NYSPHSAA championship game victory in Rochester. He played regularly on Virginia's second attack as a freshman but saw his role diminished last spring.

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   DeLucia picks Harvard: Pittsford running back Dom DeLucia, a third-team all-state selection as a junior, will attend Harvard in the fall, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

   DeLucia, who may major in mathematics or engineering, ran for 2,312 yards on 296 carries this fall. He scored 26 touchdowns as Pittsford advanced to the Section 5 Class AA final for the second consecutive season.

   "I'm really excited," DeLucia said. "I think it's going to be a really good fit for me."    Hoops star dies: Vince Cohen, a star at Boys High in Brooklyn before an All-American basketball career at Syracuse University in the 1950s, has died, family friends told The Post-Standard.

   Cohen played at Syracuse, where he roomed with Jim Brown, from 1954 to 1957 and led the Orangemen in scoring in each of his three varsity seasons. His 24.2 scoring average as a senior is No. 3 in Orange history.

   Cohen led Boys High to the New York City championship in 1953.