HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP : Lincoln Rolls Past City Central Rival San Diego, 73-59

San Diego High’s gym was only half full for Friday’s game against Lincoln, which normally would be inappropriate for a scrimmage between these two City Central League rivals.

Not so this time--the pint-size crowd was as telling as San Diego’s pint-size players in predicting the outcome.

Lincoln, dominated by seniors and juniors, proved too big, too fast and too mature for the Cavers, who number seven sophomores and three juniors on a roster of 12.

Final score: Lincoln 73, San Diego 59.

The victory was Lincoln’s 41st in a row in the Central League.

“Dennis (San Diego Coach Dennis Kane) lost his entire team last year,” Lincoln Coach Ron Loneski said. “But this is going to be a fine team coming back next year and the year after.”

But for now, the Cavers pose no threat to Lincoln’s monopoly of City Central League titles. The Hornets have won six in a row and many of them were clinched in front of full houses at San Diego High.

No. 7 won’t be. This year the Hornets’ biggest threat comes from Madison, which has a 3-0 league record.

“And Madison beat us in the Kiwanis Tournament,” Loneski warned.

Although the Cavers (8-7, 1-2) took the initial lead and held on to a slim margin, 8-6, with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter, they fell into a long slump, not scoring for the next 4 1/2 minutes. By that time, Lincoln (13-8, 4-0) held a 16-10 advantage, one they would simply increase throughout the game.

“They just didn’t have as high quality of a team as they’ve had in the past,” said Lincoln senior reserve forward Scott Hammond, who scored 16 points.

But the young Cavers didn’t sit around allowing Lincoln to put on a clinic, either. After falling behind by 15 early in the second half, San Diego continued to force turnovers with a pressure defense and was able to whittle the deficit to eight with three minutes remaining in the third quarter as Travis Nicholls, one of the seven sophomores, hit a three-pointer.

But Lincoln went on to score the next five points and the Cavers couldn’t manage another run thereafter.

Hosa Baker led Lincoln with 16 points, but two San Diego players surpassed that. Nicholls finished with 19 and Marcos Soto, one of only two seniors among the Cavers, pumped in 20 points. They were the only two with more than four points for San Diego.