San Diego High School Basketball : Lincoln Is Big Winner Over Poway

Ron Loneski’s plan wasn’t supposed to unravel quite this early in the season. He had hoped his Lincoln High School boys’ basketball team would be considered a contender, not just in the City Central League but in San Diego County.

“I would rather be the guy picked to finish second or third,” Loneski said. “I would rather be shooting for other people than people looking at Lincoln as the team to beat.”

Loneski had better come up with a new plan, because Lincoln will hardly be taken lightly after it pounded Poway, 87-66, Friday night in a nonleague game at Lincoln High School.

Lincoln, which beat Poway for the first time in three years, improved its record to 5-1. Poway is 3-1.

These two teams played tough against each other during summer league games, but Lincoln dominated Friday night.

This game was close for the opening six minutes, then Lincoln took control. In one stretch of 8 minutes 9 seconds in the first half, Poway was held without a field goal and was 4 of 6 from the free throw line. During that span, Lincoln outscored Poway, 19-4, to take a 32-15 lead.

Poway seemed baffled by Lincoln’s fast-break offense and pressing defense. In the first half, Lincoln’s defense produced 18 turnovers.

“I truly thought we could bring it up the floor on them,” Poway Coach Neville Saner said. “I thought we could pull that off, but we couldn’t because they were too quick for us.”

There were times when Poway was so overwhelmed by Lincoln’s press, players were throwing the ball out of bounds in futile attempts to shake free of as many as three defenders.

Poway kept up with Lincoln only for two minutes of the first quarter, tying the score three times. In the second quarter, Poway never threatened.

“Once we come together like that, it’s all over,” said Aaron Wilhite, Lincoln center.

Wilhite and Carl Gaines, a junior transfer from Texas, scored 17 points each to lead Lincoln.

If there was a bright spot for Poway, which won three straight San Diego Section 3-A titles before last season, it was the two three-point baskets by Ty Nichols, who finished with 17 points. Nichols’ first three-pointer tied the score, 5-5. Dave Delaney added 16 points, including one three-pointer, for Poway.

For Lincoln, life in Division III should be relatively easy for the team Loneski calls his best ever. Consider that Poway is a Division I team in the new system used by the state to determine playoff participants based on school enrollment.

But Loneski would prefer that his players not think about the playoffs, just yet.

“The older players have done a good job of telling the other kids, ‘Don’t read the papers, here’s what you have to do,’ ” Loneski said.

That sounds easy, but . . .

“I don’t want to brag,” Wilhite said, “but I think we have it this year.”