Alex Pitrofsky shares a unique connection with teammate Reed Farley. The 6'6" senior center seems attuned to where the junior Farley is on the court at times, and it can lead to key buckets in the Vikings' offense.
In La Jolla's solid 65-56 victory over Canyon Crest Sat., Dec. 5, their passing pipeline began a minute and a half into the contest. "Pitro" scored on an assist from the 6'4" point guard to put La Jolla up 5-0.
To bookend the quarter, the two again combined just before the close of the opening stanza for an 18-10 lead. The Vikings carried that momentum to a 15-point lead early in the next quarter.
But before Reed hooked up with Alex again midway through the period, La Jolla's lead had dwindled to 10 points and it looked like the red and black would struggle to maintain an early lead as they had the night before in a win over Eastlake.
This time, Farley took things into his own hands to plant a long three, after teammate Tony Coan launched his own trey, and the Vikings--headed to a sparkling 3-0 record to start the season--were up by 18, 38-20, with three minutes left in the half.
La Jolla held on to win this, their third game in the Hilltop Basketball Tournament, with a combination of guts, shared contributions, and a four-corner spread employed by Coach Paul Baranowski to chew up precious seconds on the clock late in the game. The final margin was nine points, as the Vikings escaped with their lives.
"Alex and I have played two seasons together," said Farley after the game, acknowledging the unique blend he and Pitrofsky can create. "Last year it got to us working together. Ladd (Castellano) and I practiced together a lot with Alex."
The Vikings had different cast members contribute in the win Saturday. Charlie Gal, a sophomore newcomer at the low post, scored from his favored position on the left block early in the third quarter, and again later in the quarter to put LJHS up 53-40.
Fellow front court man Daniel McColl, another newcomer to the varsity who as Gal does likes to bump bodies underneath the basket, took a Farley feed to score at 49-35.
The Vikings bent before a ferocious Canyon Crest comeback attempt, but they didn't break. Despite turnovers, their bevy of ball-handlers--Nick Hammel and Eddie Parker, besides Coan and Farley--took care of the ball well enough under pressure to yield back-to-back victories Friday and Saturday in the Hilltop gym.
Baranowski's contingent, which is playing well with plenty of talent so far, next faces Francis Parker in their bracket of the tourney Wed., Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. The winner takes the bracket and goes into the title game Fri., Dec. 11.
Baranowski employed a variation on his lineup from the night before during crunch time in the second half against the Ravens. He kept Pitrofsky in the game, whereas against Eastlake McColl got the call alongside La Jolla's "small" lineup of guards who are stingy with the ball.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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