La Jolla's basketball team played with verve to win for the third straight night, the latest a come-from-behind 65-58 victory in overtime over Canyon Crest Academy in pool play in the Hilltop Invitational Saturday night, Dec. 1.
In a rotating cast of heroes, freshman Max Raulston made five crucial points during the overtime, as the Vikings completed a successful rally from an 11-point deficit to begin the fourth quarter.
The 6'2" forward, presented with a starting role partially due to the re-injury of senior Evan Brown's broken collarbone two nights before, scored on a follow to start the overtime and put La Jolla ahead by two.
Then, a minute later, Raulston, showing more confidence the past two games, was aggressive in grabbing another rebound and putting it back for a basket for a 57-53 lead.
On an ensuing missed free throw, Max was fouled by the Ravens' Jon Pearson, who pushed him as he tried to rebound the miscue. At the other end of the floor, Raulston proceeded to make the first of two free throws, and his team now led by five with a little over two minutes to play. That was enough to shove the Vikings toward win number three after three losses to open the season.
Ravens coach Brian Baum, exasperated by his team's collapse at the end after taking the lead in the second quarter, expressed his displeasure by stomping his foot and bashing the bleacher as the seconds ticked down.
Earlier, starting the fourth quarter, La Jolla's spunky crew scored seven straight points in the span of 51 seconds to cut a 49-38 CCA lead to four and bring the Vikings roaring back.
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| Vikings assistant coach Hussein Demiral chats with Gabe Solis, with Diego Solis (left rear) nearby at halftime. (Photos by Ed Piper) |
Nick Hulquist, benched for a spell by Coach Paul Baranowski, first scored on a putback. Then, after being fouled, Langston Aron sank two free throws. La Jolla was awarded the ball out of bounds as the result of a technical foul assessed on the Ravens.
The time being ripe, point guard Behzad Hashemi canned a three-pointer from long range. With 6:19 left in regulation, the Vikings were in striking distance, down 49-45.
Showing assurance and aggression, they were able to close the rest of the gap and even lead by four, 53-49, with two minutes left. CCA's Adam Knees scored on a runner, then Pearson, an aggressive, savvy lefty who gave the Vikings trouble all night, drove for the tying basket with 20 seconds left in regulation.
Hashemi led the Vikings with 17 points. Hulquist finished with 16, while Raulston and Jett Wilson each had 11.
Pearson led all scorers with 18 points.
The two wins in pool play so far, with a third game Tuesday, assure La Jolla of moving to championship bracket play Wednesday in the Hilltop tourney. The top two teams in each pool qualify for the championship bracket. The bottom two go to the consolation bracket.
All eight teams are guaranteed five games each in the annual tournament, which concludes Fri., Dec. 7.
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