By Ed Piper
La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski started a quick lineup against visiting Madison Friday night, Feb. 2: mobile forwards Jackson Diehl and Lance Braga, along with three guards, Eli Vaz, Michael Contreras, and Nick Sebro.
Long-time Warhawk coach Mike Stutz's can't-shoot-straight squad struggled early, with the Vikings jumping out to an 11-2 lead, then 14-6 to end the first period.
Madison came back to trail La Jolla by only five at the half, 28-23. But in the speeded-up world of Sebro, the fleet wide receiver on the Viking football team, and Contreras, who never met a baseline he doesn't want to aggressively drive on, Baranowski's lineup hit repeatedly: Sebro on a surprising three to open scoring in the first quarter, Michael two layups sandwiched around a Viking timeout, then Braga on a driving layup.
After Nick blocked his opposite's shot with 1:48 left in the opening quarter, he followed with a steal and a basket 40 seconds later to construct the 11-2 lead against a Warhawk team caught off-guard.
Two Madison baskets later, Sebro punctuated the first quarter with another three from the left corner for the 14-6 advantage.
Things only slightly cooled in the second quarter. But in the end, La Jolla outlasted its opponent, 62-49, in a non-league encounter on a night in which Eli presented his older brother DeAndre with his framed "22" jersey in a belated celebration of being team captain in the throes of COVID three years ago.
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