LJ BB 43, Eastlake 36

By Ed Piper

December is tournament month in high school basketball. You might as well make the most of it. This is the time when newly-configured teams, starting out the season, have individual players begin to stand out and have sparkling moments in championship games.

So, for La Jolla High to make the title game in the Hilltop Invitational against Otay Ranch Fri., Dec. 8, is an occasion to relish. Stars are born in every tournament, and teams begin to form their character and gel in cohesiveness during tourney competition.

The Vikings earned their spot in the championship game via some clutch play in the second half en route to a 43-36 win over a persistent Eastlake team Wed., Dec 6. In the third quarter, a stingy La Jolla defense limited the Titans to four points, mostly erasing a six-point halftime deficit.

Then, in the closing quarter, multiple Vikings made clutch plays to forge a slim lead, then protect it in the closing minutes.

Guard Behzad Hashemi, partially depended on for his shooting from distance, bombed a three-pointer early in the period for a 35-32 lead.

Backcourt mate Jacob Ohara, regaining his confidence and his customary quickness, capitalized on an Eastlake turnover to take the ball down and score. That gave Coach Paul Baranowski's team a five-point lead at the 5:28 mark.

Reserve forward Evan Brown, working hard, stole an errant Titan pass. That led to Hashemi's being fouled inside and being awarded two free throws. The junior made both clutch shots. 39-34, 2:07 to play.

In his best play so far in his young varsity career, "Ev", as his coach calls him, missed a shot inside, then pounded in a putback of his own errant shot.

In a big play, Charlie Gal went high to come up with a rebound of an Eastlake miss in a crowd, and held onto the ball under duress. With the possession secure, Baranowski quickly called a timeout with 44.6 on the clock.

With full-court pressure, the ball got knocked loose, but then Hashemi grabbed the ball and passed it in the front court to Ohara. Ohara got fouled, and made one of two free throws, using a jump shot. That made it 42-36 with 10 seconds left.

Gal grabbed the rebound on Ohara's second free throw, a miss. He was fouled. He sank the second free throw. That was the ball game.

Ohara, in his third game in double figures, led all scorers with 19 points. Hashemi had 12. Eastlake had no player in double figures.

In a pattern of consistency, the Vikings scored 11 points in each of the first three quarters.

The Vikings play at 7:30 p.m. Frida in the Hilltop High gym for the title.