By Ed Piper
La Jolla trailed tournament host Montgomery by only five with two minutes to play, after rallying from 16 points down, but missed opportunities to win the game in the final moments and fell 55-49 in the second round of the San Diego Tip-off Challenge Friday night, Nov. 16.
"We had a few chances. It was better than (yesterday)," said a somewhat relieved Viking coach Paul Baranowski, who saw his short-handed team revive itself and show some heart after a crushing 67-26 defeat to Santa Fe Christian on opening night.
But a costly half-court violation bringing the ball up turned the ball over to Coach Ed Martin's Aztecs at a critical time. La Jolla finds itself at 0-2 in the young season, while Montgomery is 1-1 after being tsunamied by national power Sierra Canyon (number five in the country) 96-47 Thursday night.
"We have some things to work on," Baranowski asserted.
Seniors Behzad Hashemi and Nick Hulquist led the Vikings with 11 points each. Transfer Jett Wilson brought intensity and added nine points, playing under more control, in Baranowski's view. The former Mira Mesa guard fouled out for the second straight game.
Sophomore Christian Gamboa had six points. Jacob Duffy and freshman Max Raulston each put in five points. Leaper Langston Aron grabbed some key rebounds and got onto the score sheet with three points.
Baranowski, who has coached for nearly 40 years and who won a small schools state title in Arizona, expressed some disappointment as he headed back north from the South Bay after the game. "We're playing in the 3 o'clock game (Saturday). The number 7 and 8 teams (in the eight-team tournament." He sounded glum.
But his team's ability to stay in the game and battle against Martin's squad, which was 23-6 last year, obviously heartened him.
When a reporter told him, "It's good to get the bad games out of the way," Baranowski, always one for wry humor, said, "Oh, is that the way it works?"
The Vikings, by all accounts looking much better on day two of the schedule--though, admittedly, coming out against a team that was flat after the excitement of the packed house for Scotty Pippen Jr. and company the night before--are just trying to bide their time through tough waters until forward Evan Brown can come back from his clavicle fracture.
Then, maybe Gabe and Diego Solis can return before the end of the regular season Feb. 8 from their respective collarbone breaks, as well, and supply La Jolla with more much-needed resources.
All three football players have been present and on the bench for both games of the tournament. It continues for its final day Saturday, with Sierra Canyon facing a well-playing St. Augustine for the championship at 7:30 p.m.
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