Lincoln Does Numbers on Crawford: 100-47

When a team scores 100 points in a high school boys’ basketball game, there are usually some impressive statistics associated with the game. Likewise when the same team allows just 47 points.

Friday night before an overflow crowd of 1,000 fans in Lincoln High’s gym, No. 3 Lincoln defeated No. 6 Crawford, 100-47.

Aaron Wilhite scored 36 points, Joe Temple 28 and Darryl McMillan 16, but the most impressive statistic was that Lincoln allowed Crawford baskets on successive possessions only twice--once late in the first half, the second late in the game.

Furthermore, Lincoln had scoring streaks of 14-1 to start the game, 11-0 to start the second quarter and 11-2 near the end of the first half. In the second half, there were streaks of 12-0, 8-2 and 12-2.

Said Wilhite, “If we play like that all the time, we can’t be stopped.”

At 18-1 and 3-0 in the City Central League, the Hornets have lost only to Poway, 65-56. Crawford fell to 12-5 and 2-1.

This was the fifth game in which Lincoln topped 100 points and the fifth time it had defeated an opponent by more than 40. It is the first time Crawford has scored less than 50.

Other than Chris Johnson’s 26 points, Crawford could do little right against Lincoln’s full-court trapping defense. The Hornets has 34 steals; Temple had 10, McMillan 8.

“Our defense was a major part of this game,” Temple said. “At first they were breaking our press. But once we put a man in the middle, that’s when our defense really took over.”

Lincoln set the tone by running up a 14-1 lead. The Hornets led, 24-14, at the end of the first quarter and 46-22 at halftime. Wilhite and Temple had 14 points each and McMillan 10. Johnson scored 12 of the Colts’ 14 first-quarter points and 16 of 22 in the half.

With the game well in hand, the second half was show time for Lincoln. Wilhite, a 6-foot 8-inch senior center, scored 22 points, including 16 in the final 8 minutes. Temple, a 6-foot 4-inch senior forward, scored 14, including two monstrous dunks.

With the score 58-28, Temple, who has high jumped 6-6 in track, took a pass from John McCartney (12 assists). With no one in front of him, the crowd readied itself for a Temple slam, and Temple did not disappoint. He jumped, did a 180-degree turn and jammed the ball with both hands.

Eight seconds later, Temple stole the ball from Crawford, dribbled up and this time did a double pump, two-handed dunk.

Wilhite also had two dunks, three blocked shots and a game-high 12 rebounds but was most impressive with his shooting touch. He made 64% (16 of 25) from the floor and 80% (4 of 5) from the free-throw line.

“We didn’t think it was going to be this easy,” Wilhite said. “Ever since I’ve been at Lincoln, Crawford has been our biggest league rival, so we’re always going to play hard against them.”