Brody Sessa tries backhand
layup against Bucs'
6'8" Clay Grebing
in first quarter when
the Vikings couldn't
buy a basket.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
By Ed Piper
Visiting Mission Bay, ranked sixth in CIF, demolished La Jolla in a non-league game, 72-27, Thurs., Jan. 6, before a big crowd in the LJHS Big Gym.
The Vikings, out-heighted at every position and again missing their one big man, 6'6" Lance Braga, struggled to keep the score down at 12-1 but lost ground more and more, trailing 37-11 at halftime.
For Coach Marshawn Cherry's juggernaut team, Pablo Balderas stands 6'6" and fellow big Clay Grebing taps out at 6'8".
La Jolla played hard, with spirit, from the beginning. Sparkplug Leo Hawkinson was speedy, but so were Buc wings Maseyo Elliott, Caleb Newton, and Atreju De la Cruz.
The Vikes' Brody Sessa, at 6'3", had some taps to deflect shots under the Mission Bay basket, frustrating Balderas several times.
Everybody went to the floor for loose balls, including LJ starters Eyal Amsalem and Seigo Lavinsky.
After the 5'8" Hawkinson was sent sprawling at midcourt with 26.4 seconds left in the third quarter, the spread now 59-18, Leo got up to have a word with the offender--he calmly didn't make any gestures--but then got shoved by Buc Kevan Fitzpatrick.
Officials assessed Fitzpatrick, a guard, with a technical. "Hawk" then smoothly made four free throws in a row, two for the foul, two for the technical, suddenly bumping the score up to 59-22.
In the Western League, with one week to go before the playoffs, Mission Bay has suffered narrow three-point and four-point losses to Cathedral Catholic, then four points to 5-0 league leader St. Augustine on Jan. 21. The Buccaneers face the Saints a second time Tues., Feb. 11.
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