LJ b BB 57, Mission Bay 69 - Senior Night

The Vikings' seniors after the game: from left,
Jett Wilson, Evan Brown, Gabe Solis,
Behzad Hashemi, and Nick Hulquist.
Not pictured: Langston Aron.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

La Jolla, led by its seniors on a huge Senior Night, made a late run at Boogie Ellis and highly-ranked Mission Bay, but eventually succumbed to a 69-57 defeat to close its disappointing Western League schedule Fri., Feb. 8.

The Vikings (3-9 in league, 10-18 overall) put themselves in an early hole, falling behind 18-4 after the first six minutes. The Bucs' big man and unheralded cog in their successful run of the last three seasons, 6'7" Ronnie Latting, gave them fits and was able to move inside with ease.

The enormous crowd, standing room only, wanted more to cheer about after witnessing their heroes walk in through the bright red Vikings tunnel in pregame ceremonies. The first three quarters didn't afford many opportunities, with Mission Bay leading 22-8 after one period, and 35-22 at halftime.

The third quarter was especially disastrous, as Buc guard Jaymarree Norton helped push the visitors along with Ellis, piling up a 28-point advantage at 57-29 on Savaughn Davis' three-pointer late in the stanza.

Finally, La Jolla senior Gabe Solis, playing in his last regular season game after missing most of the season with an injury, didn't show control but lots of verve as he, classmate Behzad Hashemi, even 12th-grade forward Evan Brown--himself also having missed most of the schedule with a football injury--repeatedly attacked the basket.

Hashemi awoke from a game-long, over-hyper slumber with two treys. The noise was deafening, as the ASB-promoted crowd filled even the upper level of the visitors side. The LJHS band was in attendance in uniform, which lent a nice touch in this year of transition to a new instructor.

The Vikings closed the gap late to 13, 57-44, with 5:39 left on Behzad's second three-pointer. That was the slimmest margin until the final score, a 12-point separation.

La Jolla looked once again a little like the Lilliputians before the 6'7" Latting and high-flying Ellis. They certainly pushed Boogie, who hardly took a substitution break, though the game was meaningless in the final standings. The 6'2" Duke commit was animated, remonstrating frequently with the officials when he thought a foul should have been called. His eyes were intense. He certainly wasn't taking the night off.

There had been question as to his status leading up to the game, because he had been seen wearing a protective boot a couple of weeks ago and he sat out a game against league champ St. Augustine with "sore ankles", according to his coach, Marshawn Cherry.

An observer who knows the Buc program well said Friday night that there had been "no injury" to Ellis' lower extremities. He had warmed up for the Saints showdown, but was reported to be moving gingerly on his ankles, ultimately not playing in that game, which Coach Mike Haupt's Saints won easily.