By Ed Piper
The Viking basketball team unleashed a furious 16-point run near the end of the first quarter to halfway into the second quarter, powered by threes from the top of the key by guard Eli Vaz and forward Jackson Diehl's high-flying maneuvers, downing Point Loma 70-49 in a Central League game Fri., Jan. 26.
Vaz, finding the range, hit his first three with 3:54 left in the opening period, before the torrid run. That gave visiting La Jolla a 10-7 lead.
Then, with the Pointers leading 13-12 with 1:10 on the clock, Coach Paul Baranowski's crew reeled off six straight buckets and two Diehl free throws to take a 28-13 advantage and evidently put the game out of reach.
Point Loma was missing two starters, including a guard who reportedly broke two bones in his leg during their home game Tues., Jan. 23, against Coronado. The Pointers lost by six points. Their status finishing the league schedule would seem to reduce their effectiveness, as shown in the rout by the Vikings.
Previously, the two teams had met at La Jolla Jan. 5, and Point Loma edged the Vikings, 71-64.
Vaz, the quick guard, scored on a tremendous drive to open the second quarter, contorting his body to protect the ball in the air as he held it far out to the right to score over his taller defender.
Then, Eli went into action again bombing his threes, one at 6:44, for a 21-13 La Jolla lead, the other at 5:19 from the same spot--just to the right of the top of the key. That resulted in a 26-13 margin.
Pusher-and-shover Michael Contreras, the relentless ambidextrous senior attacker, then stole the ball at midcourt and laid the ball up lefthanded, and the Vikings were sailing, 28-13.
Diehl added his considerable athletic skills, making his own steal and a layup. With a second Jackson layup, the visitors now led by a dominating 42-19 advantage with 17 seconds left, taking it into halftime before a quieted Point Loma home crowd who had seen their star player go down with a devastating injury three days before.
Big man Lance Braga scored on back-to-back layups in the third quarter, in which La Jolla poured it on even more for a 56-29 lead.
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