Big man Alex Pitrofsky contests shot in
early going of long-awaited win over
Lincoln Jan. 9. (Photo by Ed Piper)
Sophomore guard Reed Farley hit a key three-pointer to put La Jolla up by five points over Lincoln with four minutes to play, and the Vikings sailed to a rare win on the Hornets' home court, 58-49, Fri., Jan. 9.
Playing every minute, Farley finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Farley punctuated his mini-dagger of a jumper to send LJHS up 46-41 with 4:26 left with a fist pump and a shout, emblematic of La Jolla's new confidence accompanied by increased skill over the last two years.
Senior Ladd Castellano had 13 points, while Alex Pitrofsky bucketed 12 points with six rebounds.
Facing Lincoln, the state champs in 2010, has always been the mountain to scale on the Vikings' Western League schedule each year. Last year at Lincoln, LJHS had an early lead, but then fell prey to its accustomed nervousness under severe duress and got tripped up in the late going.
There have been so many attempts at "moral victories", and piles of defeats to the customarily cocky Hornets that yet another close call but a loss would have been a heartbreaker for the red and black.
But this time, fellow guard Castellano combined his aggressiveness with the upstart Farley's by attacking the basket in the lane repeatedly. Dual big men Pitrofsky and Mark Rawdin, a rare commodity in La Jolla's basketball history, showed some stick-to-it-iveness underneath. And the Vikings, who led much of the game, were able to bring the victory home.
Coach Paul Baranowski said before the game, "We're going to take the game to them." His contingent went up 14-8 in the early going, before completing the first quarter with a 14-10 lead, enough to give new Lincoln coach Jeff Harper Harris fits on the sidelines as he screamed at his charges and repeatedly pointed at the scoreboard in the huddle.
Defender Ladd Castellano (right) remains watchful
in opening minutes as the Hornets work their offense.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
Farley, as calm collecting his gear at the conclusion as he appeared during the intense contest, said, "We start a new tradition," in reference to breaking the long skein of losses to the renowned basketball school.
Rawdin collected seven rebounds in playing 26 minutes. Guard Zach Duffy led the Vikings with three steals, and contributed four rebounds, two points, and an assist in a versatile statistical line.
La Jolla went into the locker room at halftime leading 26-23. This obviously didn't sit well with the Lincoln partisans, who are accustomed to the play of Norman Powell, part of the state championship team and now a senior on UCLA's squad, and the Robinson brothers, Tyrell and Tyree, other renowned members of that championship squad. Tyree, now a college sophomore, stars on defense for Oregon's football team.
The visitors fought and only gave up the lead to the Hornets at 37-36 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, never trailing after Rawdin made a post move near the lower right block that fell in for 38-37.
Pitrofsky sank one of two free throws to send La Jolla up 57-49, then again for the final margin of 58-49.
Rawdin's post work shows some moves that he didn't possess last year as a junior. He has obviously put in work to learn how to receive the ball down low, dribble to his left, then swing to his right into the lane to put the ball up.
Farley displays almost a nonchalance in the comfort level he outwardly shows in big games like this. Coolly bringing the ball downcourt and setting up the offense, he helps calm his teammates' nerves. In the early going, however, the 16-year-old was uncharacteristically sloppy, most likely a result of being too amped up in facing the Lincolnites.
Admittedly, the Hornets (now 1-2 in league, 5-8 overall) are on a down cycle this season, having lost their coach of the championship years, Jason Bryant. But La Jolla is much improved over last year, and the formula of the Farley-Castellano guard tandem augmented by the contributions inside from the big men, Rawdin and Pitrofsky, is working well. The Vikings won two tough games this week in the opening act of Western League play, edging rival Scripps Ranch, 53-49, Tues., Jan. 6.
Impressively, La Jolla (2-0, 10-4) outscored Lincoln 22-14 in the final quadrant.
LJHS was helped in the final 16 seconds by an illegal substitution by Harper Harris, when a player did not check in at the scorer's table before entering the game. When the referees called a technical foul, Farley stepped to the free throw line and methodically dropped in two free throws.
The clock, which had been allowed to run down to :14.4, was reset to :16.0. Even so, Lincoln could not make headway on the 56-49 deficit, falling behind further on Pitrofsky's free throws.
The home crowd, formerly vocal, quieted in the closing seconds and filed out with a noticeable absence of sound. Baranowski's players refrained from celebrating outwardly on the court, taking it into the visitors team room.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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