LJ BB 56, Eastlake 44

Morgan Albers tries to sneak in underneath to score

in the first quarter against Eastlake. He had no points,

but had three rebounds and a steal.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

La Jolla outscored Eastlake 17-8 in the second quarter and sailed to a 56-44 win in the Grossmont Invitational Mon., Dec. 21, against a team the Vikings had beaten previously.

In the spurt before halftime, giving them a 13-point lead, the Vikes (now 6-2) rode four hoops by center Alex Pitrofsky on feeds from different teammates after big man Izale Readen was taken out by Eastlake coach Marlon King. That opened up the inside for the 6'6" Pitrofsky, who then could move freely.

Guard Nick Hammel said prior to the contest that to keep an edge against a team La Jolla had already beaten 64-51 on Dec. 4 in the Hilltop tournament, "You have to think that if they had played a little better, and we had played a little worse, they would have won."

So Hammel and Morgan Albers, in starting roles as LJHS coach Paul Baranowski stayed with his core trio of Reed Farley, Eddie Parker, and Pitrofsky, helped La Jolla move to an early 12-5 lead against a smaller Titan squad.

Then, after 6'3" Readen exited with Eastlake down 21-12, Viking teammates quickly found the unhindered Pitrofsky for a layup, he scored on a tip-in of an Albers miss, he followed with another putback, and finally his layup on a fast break put La Jolla in command, 31-18, at halftime. It was one more than the final margin.

Pitrofsky finished with 15 points to lead the Vikings.

The Vikings made only two of 11 three-pointers, or 18 percent. But they used a familiar formula in their six wins, dispersing scoring among several players and employing team defense that was effective enough.

Parker had 11 points, Farley nine points, Daniel McColl eight, and Hammel six. Reed also dished out eight assists.

Nick Hammel (12) keeps guard while Titan Josh

Olave moves the ball in the Eastlake

offense in first half.

Hammel hit all four of his free throws, as did McColl, who has a nice touch for a big man. Pitrofsky led with nine rebounds, Hammel and Farley five each. That's a good stat line for Farley: 9-5-8. He added two steals, as well.

McColl said before the game he is over the effects of the flu that made him miss a game last week in the Hilltop tournament.

La Jolla played as if their minds were on the game, even with Christmas four days away and a 14-point loss to a polished Torrey Pines team the day before. Parker said his family is going to Big Bear for skiing for three days, including Christmas Day Friday. Baranowski said his family isn't driving to Tucson for the holiday, as "We don't have any family left there."


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper