By Ed Piper
"The thrill is gone, the thrill of it's gone away..."
You get that feeling in the pit of your stomach, you just want some of that magic to happen.
While La Jolla's boys basketball team was working hard, running the offense, scrambling for loose balls, they stayed even with Madison during the first half Tuesday evening, Feb. 11. The second quarter ended, 29-27, the Vikings trailing only by a pair of points.
Guard Brody Sessa had a putback to trail 18-12 late in the first period. Backcourtmate Leo Hawkinson had two floaters in the second quarter, giving a cramp in the leg to his defender with 1:14 late in the half.
But Coach Paul Baranowski's troops had been down by as many as eight points in the opening half. The Warhawks, leading the City League with a 7-1 record, didn't look great but they were performing well enough in front of an appreciative home crowd.
As Hawkinson said afterward, "They're a good team." He gives props when they're due.
The trouble really set in during the third quarter, after La Jolla tied the game 29-all to begin the period on a Hawkinson basket in the offense.
Coach Mike Stutz's first-place team steadily began to build a lead, riding R.J. Miller's baskets and some physical play inside and outside. It was 12 points, 41-29, at 5:08. Then an alarming 14 points at 1:22 left in the quarter.
The good thing for the Vikings was bigman Lance Braga's return. The 6'6" post player brought that height and aggressiveness that La Jolla had been missing for the past two weeks.
But even his presence wasn't going to solve the fact the hosts were attacking, and the climb continued to a 17-point margin--57-40--with 4:16 left in the game on a Miller free throw, making one of two.
That magic you saw in the tournament way back in December, when things were fresh and new, the excitement was there. You believed.
But an emotional rescue wasn't coming this night, as the Vikes had to settle for a steady-state bringing the ball downcourt in waning moments, passing the ball around the perimeter as they trailed by 15.
It just wasn't going to happen. All those dreams in pre-league games that brought you back to the sport, the fun, the wild-eyed thoughts of what could be if Hawkinson revved the engine with Sessa, Braga and Carson Diehl pairing up as a fearsome frontcourt duo.
This has still been an enjoyable season, the La Jolla bunch scrappy, clawing for balls, working on their craft.
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