LJ b BB: Game story 12/14

By Ed Piper

The Vikings' basketball team ran its record to 8-4 with an easy 66-47 win at home over Vincent Memorial, which was playing short with only a trio (or less, later in the game) of reserves on the bench Thurs., Dec. 14.

In the crucial run beginning near the end of the second quarter and into the third quarter, La Jolla forward Lance Braga achieved a 23-23 tie by making one of two free throws with 3:23 left in the second.

The Brazilian followed that with a jumper for a 27-23 lead with 1:12 left.

Nick Sebro, fresh from the Viking football team and coming off the bench, buried a high-arching, one-handed three from the deep left corner at the buzzer. Coach Paul Baranowski's team went into halftime with a seven-point, 30-23 lead.

La Jolla's crowd-pleasing shot wasn't accompanied by the P.A. announcer's call of it, because the sound system--like the game clock two weeks ago--was on the blink. The word was that a new setup will have to come in the New Year.

Soon after halftime, Braga, an athletic 6'5" player with spring, scored on a layup for an expanding 36-26 advantage. Vincent Memorial was just out-manned, struggling as the Vikings gained speed.

When Michael Contreras, averaging 19.5 points a game, hit a mid-range jumper for 38-26, Sebro called out, "That was dirty, Michael."

Jaime Guzman scored, causing the Scots to call a timeout with the edge now 14, 40-26.

The third quarter ended, 44-33. Then, early in the fourth period, Jackson Diehl leapt and rejected a shot near the baseline, with the ball flying out of bounds.

The lead continued to increase, with Contreras scoring on a stutter-step teardrop, 49-33.

He made a nifty right-handed shot, being a natural lefthander, dropping the ball into the basket from the right side, on a pass from Braga. The Vikings were sailing, 52-35.

Another crowd favorite (before a small group of fans) besides football players Diehl and Sebro, their teammate, Marley LaFond, subbed in with 1:02 left in the game, the score 62-44. LaFond missed a layup, but a Vincent Memorial player slapped the backboard, so referees counted the basket. Marley's were the last two points for La Jolla.