A Temple of Doom for Outmatched Morse : Lincoln (14-1) Romps to a 38-Point Victory Before Overflow Crowd

Morse High was able to control Joe Temple and his accompanying cast at Lincoln about as well as Mesa College’s gymnasium was able to accommodate the spectators for Friday night’s annual meeting between the two Southeast San Diego boys’ basketball powers.

Neither Morse nor the facility was very effective.

An overflow crowd in the 2,000-seat gym--many were turned away before the start--watched as Lincoln ran away from Morse, 97-59.

Lincoln improved to 14-1, while Morse fell to 4-7.

Morse had beaten Lincoln five consecutive times before Friday. But from the onset, it was apparent Lincoln was determined, and talented, enough to put a halt to that streak.

The Hornets jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and increased that to 15-6 4 minutes into the game.

Then came Temple time. A 6-foot 4-inch senior guard/forward, Temple scored Lincoln’s next 12 points to give the Hornets a 25-9 lead with a minute remaining in the first quarter.

Lincoln led, 28-11, at the end of the first 8 minutes, 49-23 at the end of the half and by as much as 40 in the fourth quarter.

Temple scored 14 points in the first quarter, had 20 at the half, and finished with a game-high 31.

“I felt pretty good tonight,” Temple said with a shrug of his muscular shoulders. “My legs felt pretty good. In warmups--fortunately they gave us enough time (after a late-ending junior varsity game)--I felt like I would really jump tonight.”

He did. Temple hit jump shots from the outside, from the inside and with hands in his face. He was instrumental in the Hornets’ full-court pressure defense, which caused Morse problems all game.

He scored on fast breaks, twice on thunderous two-handed dunks that scored “10s” from partial Lincoln fans holding up score cards in the stands. And he was the only Lincoln player hitting consistently from the free-throw line. Temple made his first 10 and finished with 11 of 12.

“Joe can play inside, Joe can play outside,” Lincoln Coach Ron Loneski said. “This kid can go to college at any Division I school. His potential is unlimited.”

As great as Temple’s play was, this was not a one-man show. Four Hornets scored in double figures and a fifth had 9 points. Forward Darryl McMillan scored 19, center Aaron Wilhite had 16 and guard Victor Dean added 14, including 12 in the fourth quarter.

Point guard John McCartney scored 9 points, and drew Loneski’s praise for his ability to run the offense and penetrate the Morse defense.

“I think John McCartney made the biggest difference for us today,” Loneski said.

Another factor was revenge, Temple said. “We don’t really like to look at a game from a revenge factor. But it was on our minds. For me, being a senior, I really wanted to beat Morse.”

Morse scored just 11 and 12 points in the first two quarters but matched its first-half total in the third. Lawrence Mothershed scored 9 points in the third quarter on his way to a team-high 15 points.