By Ed Piper
La Jolla came up firing blanks as host Mira Mesa went on a 31-8 tear into the second quarter to build a 23-point lead Tues., Jan. 14.
The lead eventually reached 28 points.
The Vikings were able to regroup at halftime, and fought back to draw within seven points with 3:42 left in the game. But the earlier barrage was too much to overcome as they lost, 69-53, to drop their City League record to 1-1.
The Marauders were playing without their all-state player from Hawaii, Tim Dorn, a 6'8" junior, who was sitting on the bench. Dorn, apparently, is a military brat, moving here to San Diego with his family. Mira Mesa may have played better without him on the floor, with a shorter lineup translating to quickness and ball-hawking skill.
Che Lesperance, for one, put in some 3-point daggers at key points. He is a 5'11" guard for coach Jon Pierce.
After the dizzying onslaught by their opponents from an early 4-4 tie to a 35-12 advantage two minutes into the second period, the Vikings looked beaten and retreated to cover.
Coach Paul Baranowski circled the wagons--the chairs for a halftime chat near the scorer's table--but the attack didn't peak until Lesperance's three for a 28-point edge just into the third quarter.
It was then that guard Brody Sessa and big men Lance Braga and Carson Diehl began to hit on all four cylinders, whittling away at the lead with threes and assists to outscore the hosts 20-6 the rest of the quarter. They thereby halved the lead to 14.
During that run, Cole Hein, the new transfer from Sage Creek, sank his first three.
Then, starting the fourth period, Hein hit his second three, with the Marauder lead down to 11. For a 60-53 margin--the Vikings within 7--Sessa hit Braga underneath for a beautiful assist with just under four minutes left in the contest.
Mira Mesa quickly called a timeout. La Jolla subsequently lost ground as Rashad Agorsah, Jeremiah McCaleb, and teammates went 6-for-6 on free throws for Mira Mesa to close out the 69-53 final margin.
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