LJ b BB 55, Oceanside 50 - Grossmont Winter Tournament

Viking guard Behzad Hashemi (rear) smiles during
pregame captains' meeting before lighting up
the nets with 28 points.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

Senior Behzad Hashemi zeroed in for 28 points, many coming from long range, including a trio of three-pointers, as La Jolla edged visiting Oceanside 55-50 and equaled its record at 7-7 Fri., Dec. 21.

The Vikings never led the bigger, more physical Pirates the entire game until the final basket of the third quarter, then held on behind their point guard's heroics to clinch the win.

Hashemi's backcourt mate, fellow senior Jett Wilson, the team's hard-nosed defender, gave La Jolla its first lead on a leaping drive over Oceanside's much taller Kameron Beacham with five seconds on the clock at the end of the third period. That put Coach Paul Baranowski's squad ahead, 39-38.

Then, in the closing quarter, Behzad canned a jumper, hit two free throws, swished a three with 3:17 left, another a minute later, and finally applied the coup de grace with 17.4 left: a 12-footer jumper to put the game away.

"Communication--we were talking on defense," said Wilson of La Jolla's key to closing out the contest. In the earlier part of the game, trailing Oceanside by as many as seven points multiple times, Jett said poor "shot selection" was the culprit.

Yet another senior, Nick Hulquist, one of four guards Baranowski put on the floor at one time, had key blocks and showed aggressiveness on both ends around the basket.

The 6'5" Beachem gave the Vikings problems in the first and the fourth quarters, scoring eight points in each of those quarters shorter defenders. La Jolla's Max Raulston, three inches shorter at 6'2", fouled out in the process with 1:02 left.

But fortuitously for the home team, Kam turned his ankle late in the game and, among other plays limiting him, couldn't leap to grab an inside feed to him at the low post with a minute left, a key turnover helping preserve La Jolla's win.

Hulquist, who has struggled with his shot all season, canned a jumper from the top of the key with over five minutes left to give the Vikes the lead at 45-43. Nick scored four points on the night.

Hashemi, showing the aggressiveness that he and Wilson have led their team with, pushed off on his jumper a short time later, a baseline two-pointer from the right side. His defender fell backwards from the clearing push, but no foul was called. That made the score 47-46.