Madison senior guard Rich Conlon had one task assigned to him by Warhawks coach Chris Kuhblank: Stay with Lake Braddock senior guard Greg Delaney no matter what.
Things didn’t quite work out so well in the first half as Delaney abused Madison’s box-and-one defense en route to an 18-point night.
Chastened after a one-sided talk with Kuhblank on the bench, Conlon returned to spark Madison to yet another victory.
The Warhawks overcame a 10-point first-half deficit during an impressive 71-58 win over the host Bruins in a Hubert Davis Tournament of Champions semifinal on Thursday.
Madison (6-1) advances to tonight’s 7:30 p.m. championship game, where it faces Notre Dame Academy, a 59-57 winner over Herndon in the other semifinal. Lake Braddock dropped to 7-2 with the loss and now plays Herndon tonight at 5:45 in the consolation final.
“Stopping Delaney is the one thing I was supposed to do and I just didn’t get it done in the first half,” said Conlon, who scored 20 points and hit three 3-pointers. “But it’s all about responding. That’s what I have to do as one of three senior leaders on this team. I’m glad I could do it.”
Sophomore guard Omi Ogolo was hot from outside as well with a game-high four 3-pointers and 21 points to pace Madison. Sophomore guard Dominic Morra added 15 points for Lake Braddock.
