With three minutes left in the third quarter Tues., Dec. 22, Grossmont's Tommy Rutherford was awarded four free throws--two for being fouled by La Jolla's Alex Pitrofsky, plus two for a technical on Pitrofsky's reaction to the call. It was an over-reaction by the referee to a grimace and a yell of frustration, but called nevertheless.
Rutherford, having an excellent touch from the free throw line despite being 6'9", made all four of his free throws. The Foothillers immediately followed with a layup by Marquise Purnell for a quick six-point turnaround, from the Vikings trailing by only one point to now being down 40-33.
Having scratched and clawed back from as much as an 11-point deficit, and seven points at halftime, La Jolla could have folded its tents at this point against the seventh-ranked team in the county.
Instead, the underdog Vikes kept the pressure on, edged back to take the lead, and ultimately took home a stunning 68-59 win over Grossmont in the Hillers' own tournament.
Soon after his four consecutive free throws, Rutherford had to exit the game with his fourth foul with 1:19 left in the third quarter. La Jolla's Reed Farley knotted the score, 42-42, by making one of two free throws to start the final quarter.
The visitors took the lead for the first time in the game, 45-42, on one of Farley's five three-point bombs.
The 6'4" junior then scored on a patented drive from the left wing after Purnell hit a hook, and with the point guard's final three, La Jolla was up, 50-44, with 4:48 left in the game.
It was almost as if the drama were orchestrated when Farley left stage right with his fifth foul a minute later. That allowed his teammates room on the floor to add their flavor to the mix.
Eddie Parker, Farley's fellow backcourt mate, hit a three-pointer with the shot clock running out as La Jolla erected a seven-point lead at 2:17. Parker had four treys on the night. By now, Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano had reinserted Rutherford.
But as Farley commented after the win, "After we got a few stops, our confidence grew." The tiger within the Vikings was unleashed, and even with Pitrofsky following Reed to the bench with his fifth foul, different players made key plays in the closing moments.
Daniel McColl, a forward, deftly dribbled the ball from three-quarters court and drove to the Viking hoop for a basket and free throw on the foul.
Parker scored against the Grossmont press. Pitrofsky, before sitting down, blocked a pass intended for Rutherford. Guard Tony Coan tipped another pass to the Hillers' big man that La Jolla gained possession of.
Nick Hammel was fouled as Grossmont had to stop the clock with seconds ticking down to 0:40.6, the Vikings leading 64-59. La Jolla, by now, had the Foothillers on their heels. Hammel made both free throws for a little breathing room, 66-59.
Hammel was fouled again with 0:22.1 on the clock. He again made both free throws. The Vikings were home free, 68-59.
La Jolla (7-2) plays its fifth and final game in the Grossmont Winter Invitational Wed., Dec. 23, at 6 p.m. against Monte Vista, whom the Vikings beat Dec. 11 in a poorly-played game to finish the Hilltop tournament.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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