By Ed Piper
Senior Eddie Parker scored the winning basket on a driving layup from the left wing with five seconds left, as La Jolla defeated Helix, 61-59, Sat., Feb. 27, to move into the CIF Division 2 semifinals.
The feisty Highlanders had tied the game 59-59 with 12 seconds left on a three-point bomb. The Vikings held a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but saw that lead erode steadily through the fourth quarter.
Guard Reed Farley had deposited a layup with 27.6 seconds on the clock to put the host La Jollans in the lead before a big student crowd, the loudest of the year. After the girls water polo championship game ended, a number of students came over from the pool and crowded the floor along the western sideline.
"In the huddle after they shot the three, Coach (Paul Baranowski) said Reed take the ball," recounted Parker, amid the student crowd that flooded the floor at the final buzzer and was still milling around the court. "Number 13 was just standing there. Reed couldn't get open. I thought I might do something.
"So I did what I think I do best, which is attack the basket."
Parker, in his second high-scoring playoff game after a drought, finished with 21 points. His backcourt mate, Farley, had 14. A third guard, Nick Hammel, plunked in 10.
The Vikings led 33-22 at halftime. The margin narrowed to six points in the third quarter, with the score 47-38 at the end of the period.
La Jolla travels to West Hills (the number-one seed) Tues., March 1, for the semifinal tilt. The Vikings are seeded fourth.
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