Brandon McCoy slams for an 8-0
opening against the Vikings.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
By Ed Piper
Death by annihilation.
That was Cathedral Catholic's plan from the outset against La Jolla Tuesday evening, Feb. 2. The Dons applied a full-court press from the first possession, and quickly created havoc among the Vikings.
Seven-foot Brandon McCoy two-hand slam-dunked to cap an 8-0 blitz at 5:22 of the first quarter. This followed a layup by senior Austin Beech off the opening tip from McCoy, a Beech steal at midcourt for a two-handed slam of his own, then part three of the Austin Beech Show with a putback basket.
La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski immediately called a timeout with only a minute, 28 seconds elapsed in the ballgame.
Upon resumption of play, Viking Alex Pitrofsky tried to pass a ball inside to Reed Farley that was too easy for the Dons to steal, Farley's face showing exasperation. Then the towering McColl was fouled by Daniel McColl.
Fortunately for the host Vikings, the 17th-ranked prospect nationally in the Class of 2017 missed both free throws. But then he paid the rim back with his dunk moments later.
La Jolla went down 18-3, then 25-9 at the end of the first quarter on Don captain Cam Moore's layup at the buzzer. The final: Cathedral 82, Vikings 46.
La Jolla's first points came on Farley's three-pointer at 5:12 of the opening period. But with the score 10-3, Baranowski inserted the little-used Bijan Hashemi, a nice nod to the senior and following his brother Behzad's lights-out shooting to lead the junior varsity to a 68-58 overtime win in the preliminary.
McCoy had his first block of the game as Hashemi entered the lane and encountered 84 inches of outstretched humanity that went high to get a piece of the ascending ball.
Brandon, who experienced pain in his ankle before the game and had to be treated along the sideline, pulled the ball out of Eddie Parker's hands on a drive. This followed a nifty crossover by McCoy at the other end from the left block, laying the ball up cleanly off the backboard with his body turned. He didn't seem to be limited by his injury.
When these affairs get out of hand, you hope that the hometown boys can pull off a valiant attempt at a comeback later, as they did at Mission Bay four weeks ago before falling by 21.
But there really wasn't a lot of opportunity for that, as the margin ended at 36 points. The Vikings can take comfort that they didn't lose to the Dons as badly as University City at home (by 50 points).
Forward Morgan Albers fed Pitrofsky for a basket at 18-5 on a nice play. McColl sank one of two free throws for 23-8. Farley hit one of two free throws, 23-9, when he wriggled free in the middle of the lane, close to the basket, and his Cathedral defenders saw they weren't going to stop him this time. So they fouled him instead.
Cathedral coach Will Cunningham looked much more animated than any other time in memory, moving up and down the sideline during the opening onslaught, barking orders as the Dons forced numerous turnovers. This year he's got a unit that is loaded with talent, even beside the seven-foot McCoy, so he appears up for the occasion.
Baranowski employed all hands on deck, with senior Tony Coan seeing early action after Hashemi. Big man Charlie Gal entered the game early. He played well against McCoy in the teams' matchup at Cathedral last month, forcing a turnover when Brandon got frustrated. Cathedral won that game handily, 68-40, as La Jolla played poorly.
La Jolla falls to 2-6 in the Western League, 13-8 overall. Cathedral is 8-0 in league, 15-4 overall.
Said Cunningham before the game on what he wanted his troops to focus on: "Playing defense...Solid defensive position, pressure, playing together."
Do you make any adjustments for opposing players, like Reed Farley? "For the most part, you're always aware of players who can score."
What has been working for you folks recently? "It's the second half of the season. We're playing better defense. Cohesion."
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