Lincoln is off to a roaring start — and its goals go beyond winning a D-II boys hoops title
CUMBERLAND — Thursday was the easy part for the Lincoln boys basketball team.
But what helped them win Cumberland’s 50th annual Holiday Roadshow Tournament and become the front-runner in Division II is the stuff that happens when the games aren’t being played.
The 80-57 win over fellow D-II foe Tolman gave a glimpse as to what makes the Lions so good. They have one of the state’s best players in Wayne McNamara, perhaps the state’s best shooter in Camden DiChiara and when those two combine for 56 points like they did on Thursday, they’re going to win a lot of games.
But this team is more than McNamara and DiChiara. It’s a group of players who want to chase more than a D-II title and show as much when they show up to practice every single day.
“I like to call this the easy part,” said McNamara, after Thursday’s win. “We work so hard in practice and in the summer and now we show it in the games on the court.
“It’s a beautiful thing.”
“It is D-II title or bust, but we have three goals on our board,” Lincoln coach Jeremy Wilner said. “Holiday Tournament. Division II title. State Open.
“We have a unique opportunity to be the first D-II team ever to win it all.”
Lincoln had high hopes for last season but after going 15-3, its D-II tourney run ended in the semifinals with a 62-61 loss to Middletown. The Lions hoped to make some noise in the state tournament, but lost at home to St. Raphael in the first round.
The losses served as motivation for its returning players and also forced Wilner to change how the team played.
Last season, the Lions’ goal was simple — just try to outscore everyone. Blessed with significant size, Lincoln primarily played zone defense last year and did a good job on the glass, getting the ball quickly into transition.
This year, Lincoln still wants to put up as many points as possible, but it’s switched its defensive mentality and, so far this season, has played nearly every minute in man-to-man coverage.
“What we took from last year is we’re not just going to be able to beat teams from scoring,” Wilner said. “We know we’re going to be able to score, but can we win a game in the 50s? Can we win a game in the 40s? Are we going to hold a team the entire game?
“Our motto from Day 1 is we’re not going to get out-toughed and they’ve completely bought into it.”
The toughness develops in practice. No one takes a second off and players watch out for each other to make sure everyone is putting out the same effort.
In a season where competitive games haven’t happened — Lincoln’s closest game was a 66-46 win over D-I Cumberland on Wednesday night — practices give the Lions a place to keep complacency away.
“I’ve been playing sports all my life, most of our guys have been playing sports. There’s no room for complacency,” McNamara said. “We have to be responsible and just keep working.”
“We probably practice as hard as any team in the state,” DiChiara said. “We know we’re a good team, we’re a deep team and we can push each other. We know sometimes games might not be as competitive as we’d like, so we push each other in practice.”
Thursday’s matchup with Tolman — also off to a 3-0 start in D-II — was competitive for a quarter. DiChiara and McNamara took over on the offensive end in the second quarter, scoring 18 of the team’s 23 points while the defense locked down and held Tolman to five.
Lincoln continued to push on both ends and put the game away in the third quarter. The intensity remained in the fourth quarter. The Lions played with purpose, like a team on a mission, and it’s not hard to see what it is.
“We know we’re a team that [can] transcend a division title. We’ve played against Division I teams and the record shows for itself,” McNamara said. “We’re more than our name, we’re building a culture unlike any other program.
“We want to make noise for D-II basketball, make noise for the state and bring it all the way.”
“We know what we’re capable of and we know we can achieve anything we want in these tournaments,” DiChiara said. “So we’re just going to go out and play our hardest and try to get better every day.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Is Lincoln the best team in D-II boys basketball? It looks that way
