WARHAWKS DROP OPENER
When a JV player tested positive for COVID-19, Madison High boys basketball coach Mike Stutz shut the entire program down for two weeks.
“I wanted to make sure we were able to play,” Stutz said before his Warhawks took the floor Monday afternoon against Brighton (Utah) in a first-round game of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic. “I hope we don’t play like we’ve been off for two weeks.”
And while Stutz was happy with his team’s effort, the execution was far from perfect and the Warhawks lost a 76-73 decision in the Senator Division at Carlsbad High. Brighton’s Michael Hilton scored the decisive points with 1.5 seconds left, hitting the last of his seven 3-pointers.
Madison entered the game 7-1 and on a sevengame winning streak. Brighton was 1-6.
“We took shots from the wing late in the game instead of getting the ball into the high post,” Stutz said. “We turned the ball over and missed big free throws. Those are things we’ll do better when we play more consistently.”
After a back-and-forth start, the Warhawks fell behind by seven after one quarter. A 14-5 run to start the second quarter gave Madison the lead and neither team led by more than four the rest of the game.
In all, the game was tied 16 times and the lead changed hands 22 times.
A 3-pointer by freshman Joe Cruz and a bucket by Jake Jackson gave the Warhawks a four-point lead with 1:10 to play. And Madison still led 73-72 with 9 seconds to play.
But Hilton hit his fourth 3-pointer of the final quarter to give Brighton the lead and Madison’s last chance ended with a turnover on the in-bounds pass.
“We did a lot of good things,” Stutz said. “And I do like our team.
“We wanted to compete for a championship in this bracket. Now we’ll have to settle for the consolation title.”
The 6-foot-5 Jackson — a junior who is also a standout in football and baseball — led all scorers with 30 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Cruz added 14 points for Madison — 12 in the second half. Marland Jorgensen had 11 points and eight rebounds while Mason Churchill had eight points and six rebounds.
Nash Matheson paced Brighton with 24 points — 16 in the first quarter. Hilton finished with 21 — all on 3pointers. Matani Hickley and Dante McMaster each had 10 for the Bengals.
Tournament notes
COVID continued to play havoc with the tournament as La Jolla Country Day, Francis Parker, JSerra and Santa Margarita all dropped out Monday morning.
The loss of those teams forced the brackets to get shuffled.
Fans interested in attending games should check the tournament website (theholidayclassic.org) for updates.