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| The Vikings defending in the third quarter: Nick Hulquist (far left) with teammate Christian Gamboa (25). (Photos by Ed Piper) |
La Jolla fell behind by five, then six, then seven points in successive quarters to Westview, and each time fought to come back.
But after the Vikings (3-5) fell behind by nine early in the fourth quarter, the well-coached team wasn't able to battle back, dropping a 66-59 decision to the undefeated Wolverines (9-0) in the semifinals of the Hilltop Invitational Basketball Tournament Wed., Dec. 5.
Point guard Behzad Hashemi, who regained his shooting touch the night before, continued to laser three's to the tune of 19 points and led La Jolla in a valiant effort. The 5'10" senior would be the likely representative for the Vikings on the all-tournament team, which will be announced Friday on the concluding night of the tourney.
Sophomore forward Christian Gamboa once again contributed his aggressive movement to the basket in Coach Paul Baranowski's attack. And Nick Hulquist, like Hashemi a senior, showed further signs of recapturing some of his stellar play of last summer, garnering 15 points, including three treys.
But it was Westview, led by point guard Elijah Johnson and three-point specialist Ricardo Hopping, which set the pace throughout the game, never trailing after the early going.
That forced La Jolla to scrap their way back after trailing 17-12 after one quarter, 25-19 in the middle of the second period, and 35-28 at the halfway point of the third. Each time, the underdog Vikings clawed their way back to tie, though never to eke out a lead.
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| Senior forward Langston Aron (carrying red bag) and teammates walk through the cold, rainy night from the Hilltop locker room to the gym before their semifinal game. |
Hulquist hit a three after Hashemi canned a pair of free throws to dig the team out of its first mini-hole in the opening quarter.
Behzad, Langston Aron, and a now-under-control Jett Wilson, who at 5'9" grabbed a soaring rebound on the defensive end, scored to end the half before Gamboa's free throw knotted the game early in the third quarter. That spurt cancelled out the second deficit.
The third Westview advantage evaporated via Hashemi's three's sandwiched around two of his accurate free throws. The 6'4" Hulquist, showing some of his driving creativity once again, then potted both free throws after being fouled to complete the comeback and tie the Wolverines 38-38 with 1:24 on the clock in the third period.
But Coach Kyle Smith's Penasquitos posse rode the exploits of Hopping, on a drive and three-point play, Michael Grendahl, going baseline, Jackson Krogman, then the 6'5" Hopping from outside, and they were off and running to the finish.
Hashemi tried to stem the bleeding, hitting from beyond the arc, following with a jumper for two points. Wilson scored on a putback. Gamboa drove, laying the ball in with his opposite (left) hand. The Vikings were within three, 56-53, with 3:45 left in the game.
But they couldn't get any closer, despite a pair of three's by "The Hulk" Hulquist (that's humor--he's quite slender) down the stretch. Freshman Max Raulston even had a driving basket in a futile, but hard-fought, final effort.
To their credit, the Vikes never let the bulge expand to more than nine points. The final margin was seven.
Gamboa, with his mother, older brother Ricky, and sister Milan watching, finished with nine points.
Hashemi got all but four of his points in the second half.
Elijah Johnson, the Wolverines' point guard, totaled 22 points, including four three's. Hopping scored 20 points, also with four three's. Krogman added 13, with a trio of three-pointers.
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