STOCKTON —- Moreau Catholic’s magical run has come to an end.
For the last two games, the Mariners have overcome big deficits and handled talented opponents. When their backs were against the wall, they somehow found a way to win.
That didn’t happen on Thursday night.
No. 11 Moreau was no match for a physical and scrappy Lincoln-Stockton team as the Trojans dismantled the Hayward school in a 69-45 blowout at home in the second round of the NorCal Division I playoffs. Lincoln will host No. 10 St. Ignatius in the regional semifinals on Saturday.
In the last five days, Moreau defeated Cardinal Newman in the North Section Division II championship game and Dougherty Valley in the first round of NorCals in crazy comeback wins that went down to the wire. Coach Frank Knight said the emotional toll of those games had Moreau leading up to Thursday’s game.
“We’re definitely tired,” Knight said. “Anytime you’re an underdog and you’re outkicking your coverage, it weighs on you.
“We never thought we’d be a Division I team either, but we didn’t care where they put us. But we’re just tired.”
Lincoln held Moreau star and University of the Pacific-bound senior Kellen Hampton to just three points, two days after he scored 43 to lift Moreau over Dougherty Valley. Lincoln believed the key to coming away with the win was to shut down Hampton at all costs.
“We weren’t going to let Hampton score 40 points,” Lincoln coach Anthony Matthews said. “We just over helped and dug in his lanes, and if he was gonna rise up, he was gonna have to shoot over three of us.”
Jalen Arnold and Isaiah Clendinen each had 10 points to lead Moreau.
The game was relatively close until the second quarter. Lincoln outscored Moreau 20-12 in the period to take a 35-24 lead at halftime.
Then, the Trojans broke the game open.
Lincoln opened the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a commanding 42-24 lead just minutes into the second half.
Donez Lindsey and Weber State commit Anthony Moore played a key role in stopping Moreau’s penetration at the rim. They combined for seven steals, many of which came stripping Moreau’s ball handlers on drives to the basket.
“We knew we just had to play defense,” Moore said. “If we played defense we knew we were going to win, and we held them to 45 points.”
The fourth quarter was much of the same as Moreau never threatened Lincoln’s lead.
Moore, Lindsey and junior Jagger Merolla picked up the bulk of the scoring for Lincoln as a tired Moreau defense struggled to string together any consistency on that end of the floor.
Merolla led Lincoln with 21 points, followed by Lindsey with 11 and Moore with nine.
Moreau’s season didn’t end the way it hoped, but Knight said he was proud of the group he had. The Mariners dominated the Mission Valley Athletic League and all six of Moreau’s losses were to teams that made the state playoffs. Along with Hampton and Arnold, this year’s senior class included Dominic Walker, Kevin Chapman, Cole Loud and Jaylen Thomas.
“This was a very special senior class for me,” Knight said. “They lost in a section championship their sophomore year in overtime to Clayton Valley and they came back to win a section championship this year. … It’s a pretty good legacy to leave at Moreau for the younger guys, especially for the classes coming up and following them.”
Hampton, who returned to Moreau this season after a junior-year stint at prep school Southern California Academy, said this year was special.
“It was an experience like no other. It was the best five-month span of my life,” he said. “Just playing the game I love with my brothers, it was fun. I’m glad I came back.”