LJ b BB 60, Central Union 63 - CIF D3 1st round

Lance Braga (13) stuffs

Allen Montgomery (24)

of Central with 2:57

left in the first quarter,

resulting in a jump ball.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

La Jolla (5-3 in the Central, 18-11 overall) came in as the number-two seed, Central Union (5-3 in the Imperial Valley League, 15-12 overall) came in as the number-15 seed.

The Spartans drove two hours to get to La Jolla in the afternoon Wed., Feb. 14--Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday, depending on your perspective--and came out shooting hot in the teams' Division 3 CIF first-round playoff game.

Coach Deon Staton's squad rolled to a nine-point lead, 25-16, on junior guard Jared Martin's layup with 5:38 left in the second quarter.

In the hurry-up atmosphere of CIF play, where everything is magnified, it seemed like Central was hitting everything, the Vikings struggling to make basic shots during that part of the game.

In the second half, La Jolla came back, but their ultimate comeback failed as they dropped the game, 63-60.

The halftime score included an eight-point deficit, 33-25, for Michael Contreras and company.

Forward Lance Braga had three blocks within a short span in the first two quarters. (See photo above.) Braga, a 6'5" junior, hit on layups at different times, for a 5-2 Viking lead, to bring La Jolla back to within two at 9-7, and to close the first quarter, down 17-16.

La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski brought in Marley Lafond early in the second quarter to try to slow down 6'3" Diamaggio Wyatt, who was giving the Vikings fits close to the basket.

Wyatt showed a soft touch on a lefthanded put-in in the paint with 4:23 left in the first quarter, then he worked his way to the basket at the end of the period for another score before Lafond came in.

Marley made a nice turnaround in the lane once he entered the game, with 4:49 remaining in the second quarter. That brought the hosts back within six, 25-19.

La Jolla's Jackson Diehl heated up midway through the second period, hitting the first of two free throws for a 25-20 deficit, then a layup to close the Spartan gap to 25-22 with over three minutes to play in the half.