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| What almost was: The scoreboard shows the Vikings' three-point lead with 26 seconds left in the fourth period. (Photos by Ed Piper) |
The Vikings got the Chris Olave treatment.
The 6'1" wide receiver from Mission Hills, a commit to Urban Meyer and Ohio State, turns out to be a pretty fair basketball player, too, as he showed down the stretch of the Grizzlies-La Jolla first-round Division 1 playoff game in San Marcos Tuesday night, Feb. 20.
Coach Curtis Hofmeister had the Grizzlies (the sixth seed) clear the floor on offense for the athletic Olave, a CIF record-setter in football, throughout the fourth quarter, then overtime. The fleet receiver went one-on-one against La Jolla's Jacob Ohara, who did an excellent job of shadowing him. Olave scored every point for his side in those two periods except for teammate Robert Ligayon's lone three-pointer in the fourth.
Meanwhile, La Jolla (seeded 11th) played ball worthy of a strong finish to their season. Coming off an upset of number-three-ranked Mission Bay four nights before, the Vikings--in contrast to the Grizzlies' two-man show, with 6'11" Warren Washington scoring lots earlier in the game--had contributions from all members.
Point guard Behzad Hashemi hit well, shooting frequently, from the outside, as the visitors cancelled a 10-point deficit at 30-20 late in the second quarter to trail only 32-30 at halftime.
Viking big man Charlie Gal, despite giving up five inches to the towering Washington, took up space inside and combo guard Nick Hulquist canned some key jump shots as La Jolla, down again midway through the third quarter, 41-37, rallied to tie at 41-all.
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| La Jolla's Charlie Gal (22) and Coach Paul Baranowski (to his right) in the pregame conference with the Grizzlies' Chris Olave (left, behind Gal) and 6'11" Warren Washington. |
In the fourth quarter, Coach Paul Baranowski's unit went ahead, 62-58, with 1:47 left on Jacob Ohara's drive after the half-court offense used up key seconds on the shot clock.
But it wasn't enough against Olave's late one-man heroics, as La Jolla fell, 73-67, before a modest crowd at the San Marcos school.
Ohara's layup followed Hashemi's drive for the lead versus a hounding Olave.
After Ligayon broke Olave's skein with his three, Behzad again scored, this time on a 10-foot bank shot that didn't look totally intended as a bank off the backboard. La Jolla led, 64-61.
After the San Diego Section career receiving yards record-holder, with 1,764, scored, Hashemi drove and drew a foul. He made both free throws. Baranowski called a timeout with 53 seconds left, the Vikings leading by three.
Coming out of the timeout, Ligayon missed a set shot from the left, which Gal rebounded against opposition. At the other end, with the ball in La Jolla's half of the court, Baranowski tried to call timeout but the possession went to Mission Hills. 26 seconds left. Timeout.
Olave, isolating, scored on a layup inside. 66-65, the Vikings still leading. Another timeout was called at 16.9 on the clock.
Hashemi, fouled to stop the clock, missed the front end of a one-and-one. Then, at the other end, Olave missed a layup. Big Washington was fouled on a shot with 0.2 second left. The referees restored time to 0.5 second left.
The 6'11" giant, one of four starting transfers on Mission Hills last year, made the first free throw, missed the second.
The game went to overtime, where it was pretty much Olave, who scored on two baskets and a pair of free throws to seal the Vikings' season.
The game was the swan song for seniors Ohara, Gal, and Quinn Rawdin, the latter two who were teammates on the varsity for last three years.
Olave scored six baskets in the fourth quarter.
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