Trailing an aroused Canyon Hills team before a home crowd in a newly-refurbished gym from the opening tipoff, La Jolla gained its first lead with 3:15 left on a layup by Lance Braga. Braga hit three more key buckets down the stretch as the Vikings held on for a thrilling 54-52 squeaker in the two teams' City League opener Fri., Jan. 10, in Tierrasanta.
Coach Paul Baranowski's squad (1-0 in league, 14-2 overall) trailed by as many as 14 points midway through the second quarter, and by 11 as late as 4:47 left in the third quarter.
Searching for combinations that would work in an intense game against the Rattlers, Baranowski started Sage Creek transfer Cole Hein in both halves, and subbed among the eight members of his rotation alongside mainstays Leo Hawkinson and Brody Sessa. Those three are all juniors.
As Canyon Hills' shooting came back down to earth, the Vikings slowly chipped away at the lead until the final run. After Braga's fourth basket in a row with 44.2 seconds left, and Sessa hit one of two free throws in the double bonus with 8.5 seconds on the clock, the Rattlers had the ball with 2.0 seconds left--the clock reset from 1.0 seconds by the referees--but fought for the ball at midcourt and couldn't get a shot off.
Braga, the "Wild Horse" of the Vikings a la Yasiel Puig, the former Dodger player, finished with 22 points.
"It was a battle," said Hawkinson after the game. "We started off slow. We need to start faster against Mira Mesa (Tues., Jan. 14), because they're a tough team."
Evolving into the team spokesman, the high-scoring guard (17.9 points a game) said, "We played well as a team." Asked about Hein's contributions after two games--the two have nearly identical physiques at 5'7" or 5'8"--Hawkinson said, "He's a shooter and a lockdown defender. He'll (contribute a lot)."
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