Lincoln Routs Tollhouse Sierra

Lincoln’s 98-70 victory over Tollhouse Sierra in Tuesday’s opener of the Southern California Division IV boys’ regional tournament was nothing short of a blitzkrieg. What was surprising was the way Sierra seemed to coax Lincoln into it.

“I couldn’t believe they tried to (full-court) press us,” said Lincoln Coach Ron Loneski. “But they did and that put us into our kind of game, into the 80s and 90s.”

It was a game of exaggerated runs.

Lincoln started with a 15-4 spurt early in the first quarter during which Berry Randle and Scott Hammond scored four each.

In the second quarter, the Hornets went on a 15-4 streak. In the third, the best they could do was a quick 8-0 drive, and in the fourth quarter an 18-6 run finally did in Sierra.

In between Sierra couldn’t do much better than trading baskets.

“We’re right at the top of our game,” Loneski said. “But things are going to get tougher on Thursday (in the semifinals) and we’ve got to play better if we’re going to win.”

Loneski was somewhat unhappy with the play of his guards. He would like to see more passes underneath to Randle and Hosa Baker.

But that’s not to say Lincoln was moving the ball underneath. Baker finished with a game-high 24 and Randle added 20, most of which came from within the paint.

Still, Loneski would like to see more.

“We have got to get the ball inside,” Loneski said. “I don’t think anybody can handle Berry or Hosa inside.”

The Lincoln guards weren’t handling the offense as poorly as Loneski would have you think. Joe Evans scored eight points in in a two-minute stretch during the second quarter, and Archie Robinson finished with 17 and hit two three-pointers.

Rob Slinger and Shawn Kunz, who fouled out with 6:36 to go, led Sierra in scoring. Each had 12 points.