LJ BB 55, Helix 30

Senior Eddie Parker, who bucketed 12

points, makes like Michael Jordan

in the lane in the first quarter.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

Eddie Parker, not normally an outside shooter, pegged two baskets from the hinterlands, Reed Farley punctuated things with a ferocious two-hand slam and a shout at the five-minute mark in the first quarter, and La Jolla rode a 13-1 start to a big win over Helix in the first Bill Walton Basketball Festival at Petco Park Tues., Dec. 1. The enormous baseball scoreboard in left field displayed the final score, 55-30.

Walton, in a pre-recorded message played before the tipoff, reminded La Jolla he was a Helix alum and smilingly admonished the team, "Don't be too hard on my alma mater." Walton turned out not to be joking, as Helix, playing short-handed, was never in the game from the beginning and hardly put up a fight as the affair unfolded, falling in arrears almost 30 points under the bright stadium lights.

After the early run by the Vikings, with the differential at 16-5 at the end of one period and a ridiculous 34-7 at halftime--bookmarked by threes by Farley and aggressiveness to the hoop by sophomore Charlie Gal--all fight seemed to be gone from the green-clad home team.

What a trajectory for Gal, who even after good summer and fall leagues was a question just to make Coach Paul Baranowski's varsity a month ago, with a start in La Jolla's season opener, the feature game of the evening on day two of the Walton event.

The 6'5" frontcourt man had five points and four rebounds in limited minutes, as all 10 players on LJHS's roster saw significant minutes. But more importantly, Gal, with his back to the basket in the low post, took the ball to the hoop against his Helix defenders on La Jolla's first possessions. It put them on notice and set a tone for the Vikings to be aggressive as well as confident.

Farley, the master of that confidence, was fine-tuned as he set up the offense, totaled 18 points, and hit three of four threes as festival organizers were able to complete the evening game of a trio of contests one night after having to call the Mt. Miguel-Country Day girls game Monday evening on account of condensation on the court in the third quarter.

Sophomore Quinn Rawdin sees his first varsity

minutes in the Walton Festival game

on the Petco Park infield.

A similar problem erupted Tuesday in the second game, when play was halted and employees armed with Swifters and towels took to the court to attack the moisture problem under the open air. But one attendant said the staff realized a wettened Swiffer they were using the night before wasn't aiding their cause. And just before the Vikings' start Tuesday at a belated 7:30 p.m., a fourth industrial blower was brought out to keep the playing surface dry.

Daniel McColl, scoring a basket in the fourth quarter with the outcome of the game long decided, said he slid as he made his bucket. But overall, the outdoor conditions didn't seem to affect players' outside shooting or movement in an adverse way.

Coach John Singer of the Highlanders noted before the game, "We have four football players not here" who are playing in the Open Division championship this Friday.

And Singer, not warm and cuddly under the best of circumstances, tellingly hardly even yelled at his troops, saying his only objective was, "Just show up and play," with key players missing.

The game also counted in the Hilltop Basketball Tournament, which continues this week and next with games at the South Bay school. The match-up had originally been scheduled for next Tuesday, but the invitation to play at Petco changed all that. The Vikings next play Eastlake in the tournament Fri., Dec. 4. "They'll be a lot better than Helix was," commented Baranowski.

Regarding La Jolla's starting lineup of Farley, Parker, Alex Pitrofsky, and newcomers Gal and Nick Hammel, the coach said not to derive any deep meaning from it. "It includes 'I was on vacation and haven't played,'" he said, which could include Coan, McColl, and Rawdin, all of whom missed Friday's scrimmages at Grossmont High over the Thanksgiving break.

"The team played with intensity during the first half, but they coasted in the second half, which isn't good," the coach said.

Reserve Bijan Hashemi joined in the fun as the romp proceeded, recording three steals, an assist, and a block in his first varsity game. Helix, seemingly content to let the contest continue as it was, became the gang that couldn’t shoot straight and was down 42-16 after three quarters.

Copyright 2015 Ed Piper