HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL FINALS : Division II Boys : Madison Regains Composure at Half, Beats Kearny, 54-53

The Madison High School boys’ basketball team waited until halftime of Friday’s San Diego Section Division II championship game before putting it all together.

Trailing Kearny by one after scoring just eight points in the second quarter, the Warhawks were, in the words of Coach Jim Thompson, “showing signs of unraveling.”

There were no eloquent speeches, just some quiet reflection.

“That was a test of strength,” Madison’s Robby Robinson said. “In the locker room, we got it together. We were down, we stuck it out and we won.”

Appropriately, it was Robinson who clinched the title for Madison.

With Kearny leading by one in the final minute, Madison’s Jeff Harper launched an errant shot from 19 feet out. The rebound was tipped by Jeff Alexander and Andre Mitchell before Robinson finally pulled it down. He went back up and scored on a soft two-footer with 15 seconds remaining to give the Warhawks a 54-53 victory.

Robinson led all scorers with 24 points. His counterpart at Kearny, Randy Robinson, scored 19.

“We kind of played an atypical game for us,” Thompson said. “That isn’t what we usually do to win. Usually we fast break more, shoot more free throws, pressure more and get more easy baskets.”

The Warhawks were unable to do all those things because Kearny kept control of the pace. Though the Komets never went to a complete stall, they spread the court at the end of each quarter and rarely tried to run with Madison.

The result was a tight game filled with shifts in momentum.

Madison, with Robby Robinson scoring eight points, took control early and led after one quarter, 19-14.

The Warhawks opened up their lead to nine points halfway into the second quarter when Kearny went scoreless for 5 minutes 30 seconds.

But the Komets regrouped. Randy Robinson scored on a dunk with 2:40 remaining, scored again off a rebound 30 seconds later and assisted on a fast-break layup by Chris Ortiz to help Kearny score the final 10 points before halftime. That gave the Komets a 28-27 advantage and left Madison shaken.

“At halftime, all I wanted us to do was keep our composure,” Thompson said. “I know how the momentum can swing. If we kept our composure, we could get the momentum back.”

It took a lot of composure on Madison’s part because Kearny quickly took a seven-point lead in the third quarter. The Komets led by four going into the final quarter, but they were in trouble. Randy Robinson committed his fourth foul with 1:52 remaining in the third and was on the bench.

That was the break Madison needed. The Warhawks scored eight consecutive points to open the fourth quarter and went on to take the lead at 49-47.

Kearny wasn’t through and went back on top, 53-49, on a three-point shot by Mike Hutchison. Harper made one free throw and Alexander tipped in a basket to bring Madison back to within a point.

Then Robby Robinson took over with his game-winning shot. Kearny had two chances to win in the final 15 seconds, but was unable on both occasions to get the ball into its own end.

The game was decided in large measure on the boards. Madison (26-2)had 43 rebounds to 25 for Kearny (24-5).

All may not be lost for Kearny. San Diego Section Commissioner Kendall Webb said chances are good Kearny, Torrey Pines and perhaps even El Camino will get at-large berths in the Southern Division tournament. That will be decided Sunday.