Carson Diehl (22) fights for the ball
against Clairemont's Grant Rine (10)
with Omar Rodarte behind
in opening minutes.
(Photos by Ed Piper)
By Ed Piper
La Jolla seemingly experienced a letdown Sat., Jan. 18 at Clairemont, following the Vikings' emotional game against Point Loma at home the night before, which they lost in the last minutes, 49-47.
The unit that showed up the next night in Clairemont against an upstart 9-10 program looked okay before the game, but once the action started, they evolved into the gang that couldn't shoot straight.
Plus give all the credit to a Chieftain team that, under long-time coach Ernie Biagioni, rose to the occasion and played one of their best games in shooting threes (juniors Liam Brock, who has a look-alike twin brother and teammate, Gavin, and Hank Wyman and Omar Rodarte).
The high school with 813 students (most recent numbers 2023-24) showed on a down night, the giant could be slain.
La Jolla got off to an okay start, battling to 10-6 and 12-9 leads in the first period behind Brody Sessa's drive and Leo Hawkinson's fall-away jumper in the paint. Lance Braga, the 6'6" Brazilian-American, was a big presence in the middle for the second straight night.
In the second quarter, forward Carson Diehl took a feed for a 16-12 lead, then Sessa spun 360 degrees for a spectacular layup.
But once Clairemont edged ahead 20-18 on Rodarte's three at 5:13, and Sessa took the ball the length of the court to tie 20-20, La Jolla began its decline as the blue-and-orange Chieftains kept chipping away, empowered by their continued successes.
Liam Brock scored a dramatic layup in that sequence, then Blake Murphy hit from beyond the arc.
As things deteriorated for the Vikings, they could not make free throws. One was reminded of the fact that the night before, against Point Loma before a big crowd in a league game, La Jolla led most of the game, then lost in the fourth quarter.
Here, before a smaller crowd at an away game, the disappointment set in again.
Coach Paul Baranowski, a veteran coach in his 46th year on the sidelines, has to find a way to shake his players out of their MLK weekend slumber and revive some of the confidence they played with during the tournament in December. Their league list of opponents brings more challenges in coming weeks, and they will have to raise their game to do well.
LJ's Brody Sessa swoops in
for a high-speed layup
between Jake Robbins (14)
and Gavin Brock (4)
of Clairemont.
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