Lincoln Comeback Catches San Diego
As the fourth quarter progressed Friday night, and No. 2 Lincoln lurched ever closer toward its second loss of the season, Ron Loneski, the green-jacketed Hornet coach, leaned toward assistant Hosea Hall.
“We’re going to win,” Loneski proclaimed with his team down by 9.
With 19 seconds to play, the score tied and pandemonium suffocating the steamy San Diego High School gym, Loneski sat quietly on the bench, hands folded on his lap.
Joe Temple made one of two free throws, giving Lincoln its first lead of the second half, 69-68.
When San Diego’s Clark Jones missed a short jumper with 5 seconds left, it was a final.
“We needed to see how we play under pressure,” Loneski said after the City Central League victory, which improved Lincoln to 21-1 and 6-0. “The kids kept their poise.”
The test began when Aaron Wilhite, 6-feet-8, fouled out with 5:32 to play, leaving a gaping hole in Lincoln’s middle. San Diego was up by four at the time, 59-55.
The Cavers led by as much as eight, 67-59, with 3:00 remaining. Then came a fierce Lincoln press--and the true meaning of pressure.
Loneski changed from a full-court zone press to a man-to-man, and as their lead dwindled, the Cavers consistently had trouble getting the ball upcourt. San Diego turned the ball over four consecutive times and watched Lincoln score 10 of the next 11 points.
“We lost our composure,” San Diego Coach Dennis Kane said. “When it came crunch time, they executed, and we didn’t.”
One freeze-frameable moment: 2:08 left, San Diego ahead, 68-67, and searching blindly for the kill. After a scramble for a rebound, Raynard Wells picked up the ball and started a length-of-the-court fast break. He passed to sophomore J.R. Greer, who went for the dunk, missed and then was hit with a technical foul for hanging on the rim. Temple made the free throw to tie it.
Temple, who finished with 29 points and 9 rebounds, almost single-handedly led Lincoln in the fourth quarter. He scored 12 points and had 5 rebounds, including 10 of Lincoln’s final 12.
“Coach said I had to be the man when Aaron fouled out,” Temple said.
Lincoln charged ahead, 13-4, early in the first quarter, but San Diego scored 17 of the next 21 points take a 21-17 lead.
The Cavers made a blistering 10 of 13 field goals in the second quarter, including three 3-pointers from Wells, who finished the first half with 20 points, scoring 17 in the second quarter alone. He managed just five in the second half, none in the fourth quarter.
Andre Letchaw, who finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, carried San Diego (13-4, 4-2) in the third quarter with five rebounds, and Clark Jones scored nine of San Diego’s 13 in the final quarter.
Wilhite scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds for Lincoln before fouling out, and guard John McCartney had 15 points.