McClancy Rallies From 16-Point Deficit to Overcome Lincoln

Coach Ron Loneski is a native of Indiana, where schoolboys know a thing or two about basketball.

He knew what to expect when his team, Lincoln High School, stepped on the court Thursday against Monsignor McClancy, from East Elmhurst, N.Y.

He and his band of inexperienced players got what they expected. They got a lesson in eastern basketball.

“You can tell, those eastern teams have an air about them, a cockiness, and they never gave up,” Loneski said.

Put the emphasis on “never gave up.”

McClancy rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Hornets, 88-81, in the second round of winners’ bracket in the Above the Rim Hoopwear Classic at Torrey Pines.

The Crusaders (7-3) got themselves back in the game behind the 32-point effort of Anthony Iapoce--who scored 12 in the third quarter--and a brutality on the court that Loneski said his team’s not used to.

“How do I say this without it not being offensive?” Loneski wondered aloud. “San Diego kids are soft. They aren’t used to that eastern tough. (That style is) intimidating and our kids don’t know how to handle it.”

Lincoln (6-6) certainly didn’t know how to handle it after using its quickness to run up a 51-35 lead with one minute left in the first half. But McClancy scored the final four points of the half, then outscored the Hornets 31-20 in the third. Lincoln led by one, 71-70.

“At the end of the second quarter, when we scored four points, that carried over throughout the second half,” Iapoce said.

McClancy Coach Don Kent said he just wanted his team to get the deficit to single digits by the fourth quarter.

Instead, his Crusaders took the lead, 70-68, before giving it back.

Lincoln’s last lead was 73-71, then McClancy reeled off nine unanswered points. The Hornets made only two field goals in the fourth quarter, and didn’t make one after 3:43, when Berry Randle scored.

Lincoln trailed 84-81 with 57 seconds left before McClancy put the finishing touches on the basketball lesson.

The 51 points at halftime and the 81 points for a game were the highest totals scored against Monsignor McClancy this season.

Hosa Baker led Lincoln with 25 points while Randle had 17.

Torrey Pines 65, Valhalla 52--Torrey Pines (9-2) got a balanced scoring attack, with five players scoring more than eight points, to defeat another Division II San Diego Section team, Valhalla (8-3), in a consolation game.

Valhalla shot only 25% (17 of 68) from the field and only 27% from three-point range (9 of 34). Mike Nalu, averaging 21 points per game, scored nine, making two of 18 shots from the field.

Mark Dillon scored 25 despite making only eight of 27 shots and Julian Bonner 13. Bonner also had a game-high 14 rebounds.

Torrey Pines got 16 points from Craig Brown.

St. Raymond’s 88, Deep Creek 69--Terence Rencher scored 27 points and Orlando Ortega 20 as Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond’s (8-0), ranked No. 2 nationally, advanced to tonight’s 7:30 semifinals against Monsignor McClancy.

Miami Senior 110, Payson, Utah 58--No. 9 Miami Senior (10-1) got 21 points from Steve Edwards to advance to the 9:15 p.m. semifinal against St. Anthony at the Sports Arena. Payson is 4-4.

Tournament Notes

To accommodate SportsChannel America television, tonight’s semifinal games at the Sports Arena will begin at 7:30 p.m. and 9:15. The games can also be heard on radio, XTRA-690.