Thursday, January 21, 2016

LJ b BB 59, Bishop's 51

The Vikes' Reed Farley plays tug-of-war
with Justin Woodley (1) of Bishop's
in the first quarter.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper 

La Jolla put away visiting Bishop's by outscoring the Knights 18-9 in the third quarter, as the Vikings upped their record for the season to 11-5 with a 59-51 win in the rivalry game before a large and vocal crowd Wed., Jan. 20.
 
Bishop's, owning a paltry 4-10 record coming in, nonetheless brought game and led the Vikings at halftime, 27-24.

It was a battle of 6'2" forwards, as La Jolla starts Daniel McColl, while the private-schoolers lead with forwards Sahil Sheth and Justin Woodley.

The game got off to a spirited start, as Bishop's took an early 10-6 lead on three-pointers by the athletic Woodley and guard Stefan Thomson.

The Vikings, however, battled back to take a slim 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter as McColl took a smart pass inside from Alex Pitrofsky to score, then converted the free throw. McColl shoots free throws well.

Just before Daniel's old-fashioned three-point play, the Vikings' Reed Farley, leading the hosts, was tied up by Woodley on a good defensive play at the LJHS free throw line. But the Vikings retained possession, because the jump-ball arrow pointed to them.

La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski held Pitrofsky out from the starting lineup, following his being sick and missing the home loss the night before against St. Augustine. But Alex, inserted early, immediately was aggressive and effective in going to the basket on offense.

The two teams traded a few turnovers in early going in front of the huge crowd. It was, by far, the largest turnout the Vikings have enjoyed this season.

Many of the players from the two teams know each other, which adds flavor to the rivalry game between the two La Jolla institutions.

A short time before the boys varsity contest, following the girls game won by Bishop's, few students had arrived. But by game time at 7:30 p.m., a large contingent from LJHS was carrying "The Show"-style photos of Farley and others.

Early cheers from the Vikings' student section included the old favorite against Bishop's, "Daddy's money". In a twist, some of the Bishop's students joined in the chant, as if to acknowledge the fact and turn the jab on its ear.

With a small Bishop's student turnout, La Jolla High's side let out with "We can't hear you" at the end of the initial quarter. LJHS has only had a handful of home games for its students to get their cheers together. They were obviously still trying to figure out what to chant and when.


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