LJ b BB 63, UC 43

Vikings Athletic Trainer Matt Bridges tapes down
a floor anchor for a volleyball stanchion
as Coach Bob Allen (left) watches.
(Photos by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

Senior guard Jacob Duffy had the shooting game of his life, and La Jolla rode the spirited play of several contributors on the way to a surprise 63-43 rout of visiting University City in a rivalry game Thurs., Nov. 29. The Centurions came into the game ranked seventh in CIF by MaxPreps.

Duffy, showing remarkable accuracy with his set shot from beyond the arc, sank four three-pointers for a total of 18 points. Sophomore forward Christian Gamboa continued to display his ability to get to the basket as the hosts opened up an 18-point lead at the end of three quarters on a wet night.

The non-league game was marred by the apparent re-injury of senior Evan Brown's left collarbone less than two minutes into his first game back since the football fracture nearly two months ago.

With 6:01 on the clock in the first quarter, the 6'2" forward went down on the floor near the Vikings' bench, in apparent distress over re-injurying the clavicle. Brown, who had been recuperating since the injury in a game at Lincoln in early October, remained lying on the floor with his hands over his face for four minutes or so as Viking trainer Matt Bridges, his coach, and his parents looked after him. He walked off the floor on his own power and left the gym, not to return.

Seemingly spurred by the sight of their fallen comrade, the Vikings recovered shortly from a 5-3 deficit to jump out to a 15-9 lead by the end of the quarter.

Duffy's two free throws, then a three at 1:52 forced UC coach Terry Stonebraker to call time out, La Jolla leading 13-7.

Pre-game team huddle, including senior Evan
Brown (at 3 o'clock).

That advantage bulged to nine points early in the second period after the right-handed Gamboa made a nice left-handed drop-in for a lay-up, then after a fired-up Duffy leaped high to snag a defensive rebound, Christian planted a three-pointer from the left baseline. The Vikings led, 18-9.

A good-sized nucleus of La Jolla football, lacrosse, and water polo players, among others, sat courtside and made a lot of noise in support of their non-errant knights on each good play.

Action in the first half was ferocious, but scattered, by both teams in the rivalry. But then a third quarter in which the Vikings out-scored the Centurions 18-10 to increase the lead to 18 had thrown the ranked UC squad out of its game.

As Stonebraker observed before the game, "We're up-and-down," despite the high ranking. Big man Benito Hurtado, 6'6", averaging 14 rebounds a game, was not a major factor. Nor was 6'4" All-CIF wide receiver Casey Granfors, who played sparingly later in the game. Often Granfors can let loose with his athletic leaping ability. His upper body has filled out since last year.

Gamboa finished with 11 points.

Viking point guard Behzad Hashemi led the team with 22 points. He was much more effective as the game progressed as he played under more control.

He and Hurtado had words after Hurtado made a hard foul on Hashemi as Behzad drove to the basket late in the third quarter. A referee cautioned the guard about his words to Benito. The 5'10" Hashemi then proceeded to make two free throws.

A short time later, Benito was called for a technical. The referee explained the call by motioning with his left elbow. The Viking guard capitalized by stepping to the free throw lines and sinking the free throws.

The LJHS student section was vocal, raising quite
a ruckus at opportune times during the rivalry
game with visiting UC.

Baranowski placed Brown, who has faithfully attended every game while recuperating and kept the scorebook, in the starting line-up at forward. But it was not to be a good night for him, ending abruptly.

Evan's father Eric, taking photographs of the game, said his son had just been cleared to play by the doctors on Tuesday. He had been practicing with the team for two weeks with "no contact" restrictions.