HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP : Poway Defeats Sluggish Lincoln

Fighting to keep up with No. 4-ranked Poway through the first half of Friday’s Kiwanis Tournament third-round game at Hoover, fifth-ranked Lincoln began to unravel with only a few seconds remaining in the first half.

That’s when Poway’s Todd Fortney missed a three-pointer. Lincoln’s Dennis Washington, however, fouled Fortney on the follow-through.

What came next was the turning point: Fortney hit all three free throws to give Poway a one-point lead as the second quarter expired and spur his team to a 74-64 victory.

Lincoln Coach Ron Loneski blamed the deficit on his team’s “lethargic” play.

“We just came in down in the dumps,” he said.

Poway’s Doug Wealch didn’t appear to realize just how soundly his team had won.

“Boy, hopefully we won’t have to play them again,” he said. “They are a very difficult team to play.”

But this time, Lincoln--which had previously upset Poway--wasn’t so tough.

Its guards--much-heralded Archie Robinson, Dennis Washington and Hosa Baker--continually threw passes into the hands of the wrong guys. And when Lincoln did work it in for a shot, it could never get the offensive rebound.

“We were getting just one shot and that was it,” Loneski said. “But our shot selection was horrible.”

One reason Lincoln was out-muscled on the boards by Poway’s 6-foot-7 Kyle Milling and 6-6 Andy Davis was the absence of 6-3 Scott Hammond, who is away this weekend on a football recruiting trip.

And although Loneski admitted his team felt Hammond’s void, the coach continued to rail on what he saw as a lack of hustle.

“That’s the thing about basketball,” Loneski said. “It’s not always the best team that wins, but the team that wants it most. And you’ve got to hand it to Poway. They wanted this one.”

Perhaps no one wanted it more than Milling. Besides strong-arming Lincoln’s forwards underneath, he came through with 19 points. Davis also finished in double figures with 17.

The only Lincoln player with more than 10 points was Berry Randle, who finished with a game-high 26.