Leading off today: Power forward Kadeem Jack scored 24 points, pulled down 20 rebounds and blocked six shots to lead No. 5 Rice past No. 1 Bishop Loughlin 71-56 in a clash of state-ranked Class AA powers last night in Brooklyn.

   Villanova-bound Jayvaughn Pinkston scored 29 in a losing cause.

   "I came in here knowing I had to make a statement," Jack told The Daily News. "Jayvaughn being the No. 1 player in the city right now -- I took that to heart. I felt like I should prove something to everybody, and I did."

   Jack, who is being recruited by Arizona and Arkansas, helped Rice break to a 33-20 halftime lead. His layup and put-back dunk lifted the Raiders to a 48-31 lead in the third quarter.

   "I think it’s a big statement coming to Loughlin’s home gym and beating them," said Rice's Jermaine Sanders (20 points). "Kadeem made a statement."    In other notable New York City action, Carl Benjamin’s 28-footer at the buzzer led Martin Van Buren to a 66-63 last-second victory over No. 17 Cardozo. Malcolm McGulivary had 19 points and Orlando Johnson added 10 for Van Buren, which rallied from a 15-point deficit.

   Leading off today: Iona Prep erupted for 33 third-quarter points en route to an 84-72 victory over visiting Mount St. Michael, 84-72. Iona Prep is No. 2 and MSM sixth in this week's New York State Sportswriters Association Class A rankings.

   Vermont recruit Brian Voelkel posted 18 points, 21 rebounds and seven assists for the Gaels, who had five double-figure scorers.

   "The way the Mount plays defense, they really pack it in and it's hard to play in the half court," Voelkel told The Journal News. "We got some easy baskets in the third quarter off turnovers and it really opened the game up."

   Iona Prep made 15 of 22 shots in the third period.

   Leading off today: Jamesville-DeWitt's Lamar Kearse scored a team-high 15 points to led the unbeaten Red Rams, ranked No. 1 in Class A, to a 46-41 victory rival Syracuse CBA.

   It avenged J-D's only regular-season loss of a year ago.

   "Every day this week, thats all we've been hearing: 'They beat you last year,'" Kearse told The Post-Standard. "My father put the picture that was in the newspaper last year of CBA beating us on my computer screen. I had to keep looking at it. It made me want to win this game even more."

   J-D led 14-8 after a first quarter in which the teams combined for 14 turnovers and 34-26 after three quarters. The Red Rams play in the Juggler Classic at Utica, meeting Bishop Kearney tonight and ND or Albany Academy on Sunday.

   Milestones: Tuxedo girls basketball coach Dave Powers picked up career win No. 400 Thursday in a 51-30 non-leaguer over Livingston Manor. Powers has 156 wins in nine seasons at Tuxedo after previous stints at Immaculate Heart (N.J.) for two seasons and Nanuet for 14.

   Amityville boys coach Jack Agostino picked up his 400th win with a victory last night over Westhampton Beach.

   Benched: Abraham Lincoln forward Chris Ortiz, a transfer from Christ The King, was ruled ineligible by the PSAL this week.

   Ortiz left Christ The King on Dec. 18 after a series of disciplinary incidents, The New York Post reported. He enrolled at Lincoln before playing any games for CTK, but Department of Education spokeswoman Margie Feinberg confirmed the ruling.

   "As a result of Christopher Ortiz’s participation in practices and scrimmages on the Christ the King Regional basketball team, the eligibility committee has concluded that he was an active member of the team at the time he was discharged,” Feinberg told the paper. "This is further confirmed by the athletic administration of Christ The King high school."

   Rule 3.2 of the PSAL’s Student-Athlete Eligibility Rules and Regulations supports the finding, though Lincoln's Kamari Murphy earlier was ruled eligible under similar circumstances after leaving Bishop Ford.

   however, that decision raised a ruckus both from CHSAA schools and Lincoln's PSAl rivals, threatening to escalate already-frosty relations between factions of the Big Apple basketball scene.

   We'll have more on the subject tomorrow.

   Classification revisions: The executive committee of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association is expected to vote Thursday on proposed new enrollment cutoff numbers to be used in determining playoff classes for the state football tournament.

   Under the proposed changes in BEDS numbers for football, which would re-balance the number of schools in the respective classes:

Class AA: 1,001 and up (was 1,051)

Class A: 601-1,000 (was 626-1,050)

Class B: 401-600 (was 441-625)

Class C: 261-400 (was 276-440)

Class D: 260 and under (was 275)

   Based on preliminary BEDS data submitted by the respective schools, dozens of teams could be affected. Notable among them, North Tonawanda, McQuaid, Union-Endicott, Troy and Hilton would play in Class AA next season rather than A if the changes are approved. New Hartford, Lansingburgh and Geneva would be in A rather than B.

   Also, Bath and Croton-Harmon would play in B rather than C; and Westmoreland would play in C rather than D.

   New numbers have already been OK'd for soccer, basketball, baseball and softball:

Class AA: 925 and up (was 950)

Class A: 525-924 (was 550-949)

Class B: 305-524 (was 325-549)

Class C: 175-304 (was 193-324)

Class D: 174 and under (was 192)

   Also, ice hockey will begin using enrollment numbers in place of its arcane Division I-II format that once upon a time was pegged to ability of particular programs. Now, Division I will be for schools with enrollments of 1,100 and above.