LJ b BB 56, Westview 60

Coach Paul Baranowski huddles with the Vikings during
a timeout in late moments: Charlie Gal (with towel),
Behzad Hashemi (next to him).
(Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

Prior to Westview's opening game Fri., Dec. 15 in the Grossmont Winter Classic against host La Jolla, ninth-year Wolverine coach Kyle Smith said that his 1-5 team had suffered some "disheartening" losses early in the season.

Well, the Wolverines then proceeded to deal Coach Paul Baranowski's Vikings a bit of a disheartening defeat, squeaking out a 60-56 win in La Jolla's first game in front of its home fans this season.

The Vikings, coming off their exhilarating championship in the Hilltop Invitational the week before, had won five of six games. But Westview, in search of an identity, according to their coach, and led by senior point guard Kobe Gatti, outplayed La Jolla in leading throughout the game, other than a tie at 8-8.

The Wolverines, paced by junior guard Ricardo Hopping's 20 points, including three treys, led by as many as 10 points, the last time at 47-37 to begin the fourth quarter. But the Vikings, behind Charlie Gal's 20 points, stayed within range and cut the lead to nine on Jacob Duffy's three-pointer with 1:31 left.

Evan Brown's pair of free throws brought La Jolla within six, 56-50. The junior forward's putback on a missed Gal three-point attempt followed with 22.1 seconds on the clock. Baranowski's called a timeout, the score 58-52.

Then, after Hopping hit two free throws for 60-52, a testy sequence occurred. Gal, gathering the rebound on a Behzad Hashemi missed three, went up for the score and was roughly fouled with 10.4 seconds left. He didn't take kindly to the physical play. The referees indicated the ball out of bounds to La Jolla. Then, with Hopping being assessed a technical foul and removed from the game, Baranowski put Hashemi, his best free thrower, on the line.

Behzad made both free throws. That tightened the score to 60-54.

Gal then took his two free throws for being fouled, and also made both. 60-56 now. If Westview had lost, it would have been a major blunder by their junior guard.

The Vikings, lastly, were awarded the ball out of bounds inside midcourt at their end of the floor. Gal pointed to the baseline for the inbounds spot, but the referees weren't biting. With four seconds left and the Wolverines' defense smothering all open spots, Nick Hulquist put up a three-pointer under pressure. His shot missed, with Diego Solis battling for the ball under the basket as time ran out.

Hashemi finished with 14 points. For the Wolverines, Gatti, a three-year starter and the team's "heart and soul", according to his coach, also had 14.

La Jolla falls to 5-2 on the season, Westview now 2-5, as the Vikings continue play in the Grossmont tournament Sat., Dec. 16, in an 8 p.m. game against Foothills Christian, the top-ranked school in the county.