Lincoln forward Victor Dean

For the first time, the San Diego Section has a Division II state champion in boys basketball. Friday night in Bakersfield, Lincoln raced out to a big lead against Mountain View Saint Francis and never looked back, capturing their second state title in school history with a 74-59 victory.

“It’s a special feeling to be the first Division II team to win the state championship,” said Lincoln head coach Jason Bryant. “For us to have that in mind from day one and actually have it come into fruition makes it more special for us.”

From the opening tip, Lincoln (29-2) played the game at their pace. The Hornets scored the first nine points of the game and led 15-2 midway through the first quarter, having their way with Saint Francis’ multiple defensive fronts.

“Before the game I knew that we needed to set the tempo for the game and have them adjust to us,” Bryant said. “We needed to be the aggressor and we came out and did that in the first quarter.”

Lincoln led by 11 after the first quarter and opened up a 15-point lead with 2:55 left in the first half. But Saint Francis (30-4) trimmed the Hornets lead to 10 at the half with a 7-2 run to close out the quarter.

“At halftime, we just wanted to make sure the players understood that it was going to be a physical game and that they weren’t going to go away,” Bryant said.

At the start second half Lincoln didn’t sit on their lead, attacking the Lancers zone defense by simply going through it. Rather than trying to shoot Saint Francis out of their zone, the Hornets took the ball to the hoop with success, continuing to build their lead.

“In the second quarter we settled for long jump shots against their zone,” Bryant said. “We stressed at halftime to keep attacking and keep taking high percentage shots and that’s what we did.”

With less than a minute left in the third, Lincoln guard Norman Powell threw down a one-handed dunk to give the Hornets a 58-34 lead. That lead would be more than enough, as Lincoln was able to hold off Saint Francis in the final quarter to a 15-point win.

The two-headed attack of Victor Dean and Norman Powell led the way for Lincoln, with each scoring a game-high 24 points. Both players also had their fair share of highlight-reel plays during the game, including Dean’s huge one-handed putback dunks on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter.

“Those were huge momentum changers,” Bryant said. “Saint Francis started to hit threes at the end of the game and I think those two dunks in the fourth quarter gave us the momentum back.”

Saint Francis was led by forward Patrick Crowley and guard Tim Wang, who each scored 13 points. Lancers leading scorer Tyler Johnson scored 10 points and fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Lincoln ends their 2009-2010 season on a 24-game winning streak and the second state championship in school history. The Hornets last state title came in 1994 in Division IV.

And with only five players graduating from this year’s team, Lincoln’s state title might simply be a preview for upcoming success.

“That’s what we’re thinking,” Bryant said. “We have a relatively young team and even with the team we have right now coming back we can compete for state next year.”

Lincoln – 74 (21-14-22-17)

Dean 24, Powell 24, Tyree Robinson 11, Simpson 2, Maxey 1 (starters) J. Smith 8, Tyrell Robinson 3, Jones 1

Saint Francis – 59 (10-15-9-25)

Crowley 13, Britschgi 12, Bates 3, Osorio 3, McCoy 0 (starters) Wang 13, Johnson 10, Margaretic 2, Dickey 2, No. 12 1