LJ b BB 69, Hilltop 27

Newcomer Garrett Brown drives to the basket

in the first half. (Photos by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

La Jolla treated tournament host Hilltop and the Lancers' new coach rudely in the feature game on opening night of the season, humbling the South Bay team 69-27 in the 40th edition of the Hilltop Invitational Fri., Dec. 2.

The Vikings, included in Eastern League chatter about potential title contention this season, played tight, disciplined ball at both ends of the court to break out to leads of 21-6 at the end of the first quarter and 34-14 at halftime.

Coach Paul Baranowski's squad, whose willingness to play together he highlighted in pregame comments, effectively incorporated senior Reed Farley's all-around contributions with some of junior Quinn Rawdin's outside shooting in the first half. Nick Hammel and Daniel McColl, recently coming over from football, played effective minutes, particularly Hammel at a wing.

Farley, a streak shooter who on this night couldn't throw a pea in the ocean from the outside most of the time, instead treated the crowd to three spectacular dunks--the first a two-hand jam early on, the second a flying one-hander, and finally a wind-up right-hander that even the vocal Hilltop boys rooting section erupted over. The latter two came in the more free-form second half when both teams got a little more ragged, with the outcome already evident.

The lefty Rawdin, besides a pair of threes in the opening quarter, showed he has been working on his all-around game in the offseason with a smooth drive to the basket for a 23-10 advantage midway through the second quarter, something he didn't do much in his first season as a sophomore. He looked sharp.

Junior guard Quinn Rawdin pushes the ball

quickly upcourt as the Vikings' attack over-

whelmed tourney host Hilltop on

opening night.

Charlie Gal, the Vikings' tallest player at 6'5", kept battling underneath, and after a modest first half offensively, he virtually took over scoring in the first part of the third period with three straight buckets inside. The trio of baskets jumped La Jolla's lead very quickly to 45-19, a 26-point bulge.

One of those came on a full-speed drive to the basket under pressure. The senior returner added another basket near the end of the quarter. By then, the Vikes led by a whopping 35 points, not seen too often in Viking land.

A newcomer, Jacob Ohara, shined in a reserve role. Though not exceedingly tall, he scored on one of his trademark soaring drives over defenders with a minute left in the first half.

The Lancers' new coach, Luke Kelley, was active and animated along the sideline for Hilltop. On the opposite sideline, the school's cheering section was boisterous even as the game deteriorated for the hosts, much to its credit. They initially got on Farley, but then laid off after his fireworks impressed.

Farley had an acrobatic move midway through the second stanza: After hitting his first jumper, he drove down the lane, crossing under the basket and flipping the ball left-handed behind his head. The ball glanced in. It was classic Dr. J stuff.