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| Viking players have big grins for the photographer prior to taking the floor for the finals. (Photo by Ed Piper) |
La Jolla out-quicked an Otay Ranch team whose strength is speed, the Vikings limiting the Mustangs to four and six points in the first two quarters, respectively, to take home the hardware of the Hilltop Invitational champions by virtue of their 59-48 win in the tournament finals Fri., Dec. 8.
Jacob Ohara and Behzad Hashemi, the heretofore-unknown speedster guards for Coach Paul Baranowski's squad, made a name for themselves by leading La Jolla to a 22-8 halftime lead. The champs' lead reached as many as 20 points in the third quarter, before Otay Ranch mounted a furious charge in the final period that La Jolla held on against.
"I have to thank Behzad for most of those (baskets)," said Ohara, a 6'1" senior, after being awarded the tournament Most Valuable Player award. The lithe, reserved backcourtman scored 13 points in the final to go with previous tournament games of 16 and 14 points, while Hashemi led the team with 16 points and seven assists. Behzad scored most of his points on free throws, making 10 of 12 from the stripe, four in a row coming in the tight closing moments.
Forward Charlie Gal came up big for Baranowski's team, dominating the first quarter defensively with several blocks against the Mustangs' post men when La Jolla took an 11-4 lead. The 6'6" veteran starter finished with seven blocks and 16 rebounds to go with his 11 points on 7 of 9 free throws.
Otay Ranch coach Howard Suda said before the game, "On defense we 're not big, but we're fast, so we try to play that to our advantage." From the beginning, La Jolla stifled the Mustangs' speed by getting behind the defense and scoring in transition. The Vikings netted the game's first six points, then moved to a seven-point lead by the end of the initial period. Ohara had two drives for baskets, while Otay Ranch, restricted inside, couldn't hit outside shots.
In the torrid fourth quarter, in which Otay Ranch fought back to within seven points, talented Chris Stanek came alive and put a scare into the Vikings. Named all-tournament along with Hashemi and Ohara, the 6'3" senior and long-range shooter Diego Sanchez hit key baskets to whittle the 44-27 lead after three quarters down.
La Jolla's free-throwing, which has been solid during the Hilltop tourney, held true again down the stretch. In addition to Hashemi's hitting five of six in crunch time, Gal made three of four.
In what could have been a turning point for the worse for La Jolla, Ohara fouled Stanek on a three-point attempt with the Vikings leading by 10 with 4:48 left, gifting the good shooter with a trio of free throws. He made all three, cutting the lead to 46-39. The atmosphere in the Hilltop gym changed.
But on a crucial play, with 10 seconds to advance the ball past midcourt running down on the Vikings, Hashemi was fouled by Otay Ranch's Sanchez in a major blunder. With 2:32 on the clock, the Vikings' lead was only 48-41, the Mustangs rallying strongly. Instead of turning the ball over, La Jolla got a point when Behzad made one of two free throws in the double bonus, and the Viking lead was bolstered.
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