LJ b BB 53, Madison 48

Viking assistant coach T.J. Parry dispenses counsel

during a timeout to (L-R) Behzad Hashemi, Jacob

Duffy, Diego Solis, Evan Brown, and

Nick Hulquist. (Photos by Ed Piper, Jr.)

By Ed Piper, Jr.

Relying on a lineup consisting almost completely of players from the Class of 2019, La Jolla assistant coach T.J. Parry led the Vikings to a 53-48 win over Madison in the Montgomery High summer league Mon., June 26.

Madison, a team La Jolla has owned the last couple of years, led by four late in the third quarter. But the Vikings held the Warhawks off, landing in a secure spot on Behzad Hashemi's pair of free throws for a nine-point lead with 1:26 left.

"I liked the energy in the fourth quarter," said Parry, filling in for head coach Paul Baranowski in a game played in the steamy MHS Old Gym in the South Bay.

The new Vikings, featuring Evan Brown up front for the graduated Daniel McColl alongside a plethora of disciplined guards, led from the beginning. In the second quarter, their edge stood at 17-6, then 21-9, before Madison fought back to a 21-18 deficit at halftime.

Nick Hulquist, a tall guard in the mold of Reed Farley at 6'5", had a block in which he gained possession, and Hashemi, a varsity returner, made all four of his free throws in the fourth quarter when it counted.

Jacob Ohara (right), one of only two rising seniors

on La Jolla's squad, listens as Parry remonstrates.

 

Shooting charts of La Jolla's offense revealed only two makes from outside, a three by Gabe Solis from near the left elbow in the opening stanza and a trey by Hashemi from the right baseline in the second quarter. That's an area where La Jolla might want to improve, with Hashemi, Hulquist, and Solis having outside shooting skills.

Parry probably wasn't complaining, though, at the fact the red and black burned Madison for repeated shots from close in. In the fourth quarter, rising senior Jacob Ohara--the lone senior present and accounted for--scored four buckets inside, Jacob Duffy had two from the left side of the basket, while Diego Solis, Gabe's younger brother and a rising ninth-grader, added another.

Brown, like his predecessor McColl in the front court measuring 6'2", will have to find a way to battle taller opponents along the baseline in the coming season. But on the junior varsity last season, he found a way to be extremely effective. Hopefully, he can translate his skills to the varsity level under Baranowski.

Ohara and Gabriel Solis looked like they benefitted from another year of growth and maturation. Ohara looked confident and aggressive. A natural righty, he scored on a left-handed layup in the final quarter. In the second quarter, he forced a travel call underneath the basket on good, aggressive defense. He'll be looked to for considerable leadership as a returner next winter.

Gabe has looked faster and quicker recently, in both the Vikings' participation in 7-on-7 football at La Costa Canyon Sat., June 24, and in the basketball game against the Warhawks. A receiver in football, he said, "Track helped me get faster and quicker. In track, you work on your starts. That has helped."

Commented Parry, "Gabe? He makes some plays. With him, it's staying under control (that's the issue)."

Asked what he has seen this summer, the assistant coach said, "We're playing in spurts. In the summer we don't play together everyday. They play together for four minutes, then they don't play together for four minutes."

Asked what the antidote is, Parry shrugged.

Duffy hit only two of his six free throws in the fourth quarter. That's an area where he's got to sharpen up. He made one of two earlier in the third quarter. He did grab a rebound in the second quarter, another in the fourth with a block.

Ohara sank two of four free throws in the opening quarter, one of two in the third. Ditto the need to tighten that up.

The Vikings play Mondays and Wednesdays at Montgomery through July 12. After a trip to Baranowski's native Arizona June 15-17 and their first weekend camp at Point Loma Nazarene June 23-24, they resume camp participation at UCSD this weekend, June 30-July 2, before enjoying the July 4th holiday.

Then La Jolla goes to Grossmont July 7-9.