
While one local boys basketball team saw its season come to an end, three others made plans to continue playing this week, with CIF gold still attainable. La Jolla High remained alive in Division III play after wins over San Marcos and league rival Saints. La Jolla was to meet Valley Center on Wednesday, March 4 in an effort to advance to the championship game. In its opening 52-45 win over San Marcos, La Jolla (13-14) was led by 6-foot-6-inch twin towers Tyler Heap and Alec Giusti. Most of the contest proved an even give-and-take, a low-scoring halfcourt game. In the first half, 14 of La Jolla’s points came from the long-range shooting of Heap, who bombed his long-armed jumpers over the Knights’ zone. In the third quarter, Giusti established his low-post game, dropping feathery jump hooks over the tall trees of San Marcos. The Vikings and Knights were tied 32-32 at the end of three quarters of play. In the fourth quarter, however, the game was determined by defense. La Jolla dug in and went belly-to-belly on San Marcos, and the Knights, tired and dogged, turned the ball over and lost their poise. Junior Jack Latta converted some determined drives to the rim while junior point guard Max Greenberg and junior swingman Taylor Davis swarmed on defense as La Jolla pulled away for the victory. Heap finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots, Giusti posted 14, Latta eight points and four assists, and Davis seven points and five assists. With the win, La Jolla moved on to meet Saints, scoring a 72-57 victory and punching a ticket to the semifinal round. La Jolla opened a commanding 34-14 lead at one point, as the Viking guards hustled on the perimeter, while inside, Heap and Giusti hosted a block party with seven and six blocked shots, respectively. The Vikings also got some quality minutes from senior Henry Nawahine, juniors John Walsh and Will Peterson, and sophomore Ryan Mills. Down the stretch, Latta got to the iron repeatedly for layups and the Vikings converted enough free throws to stretch their lead and claim the victory. In a balanced team effort for the Vikings, Heap took scoring honors with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven blocked shots; Latta stepped up with 19 points and seven rebounds; Greenberg flirted with a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, Giusti and Davis contributed eight each, and Walsh had six. In Division IV action, The Bishop’s School (24-3) advanced to the next round with last week’s 60-47 victory over Imperial High. Bishop’s was to meet Horizon on Wednesday, March 4 with a spot in the championship game on the line. In the win over Imperial, Malik Love paced the Knights with 28 points, while David Stotelmyre chipped in with 19. Elsewhere, University City (UC) High (23-5) posted a 58-51 victory over Mission Bay High in Division III play, as Mark Hills (18 points), Reynard Rice (15 points) and David Washington (14 points) led the way. UC opened CIF play with a 70-39 win over Madison, and was to meet Cathedral Catholic on Wednesday in semifinal round action. Finally, La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School saw its season end at 13-14 following a 42-38 loss to Calipatria. Dennis Roth paced LJCD with 11 points. On the girls side, The Bishop’s School rolled past Francis Parker 73-27 in Division IV opening-round play last week. Bishop’s was to meet Santa Fe Christian Tuesday, March 3 in the next round. In the victory over Francis Parker, Inga Orekhova and Gizelle Studevent each tallied 14 points, with Alissa Campanero adding 13. Bishop’s beat Santa Fe Christian 81-38 in the March 3 Division IV semifinals to earn a trip to the March 7 final. Elsewhere in Division IV play, La Jolla Country Day School rolled past Imperial with a 73-26 victory last week. The Lady Torreys jumped out to a 17-1 first quarter lead and never looked back. Ariana Elegado led LJCD with 17 points, with Chemayne Shipley and Maya Hood adding 15 and 12 points, respectively. Hood added 10 rebounds, while Gillian Howard paced the defense with nine blocks. LJCD met Mater Dei on March 3 in the semifinal round, hoping to take one step closer to its ninth straight CIF Finals appearance. But the Lady Crusaders forced 21 LJCD turnovers in the first three quarters to take the win 51-44, moving to the March 7 Division IV title game against Bishop’s. In Division III action, La Jolla ended its season at 8-19 with a 56-42 loss to Brawley. Valerie Nawahine paced La Jolla with 16 points. Finally, University City High ended its campaign at 10-17 with a 55-54 loss to Valley Center. Jillian Drogin led UC with 15 points, with Joy DeLeon and Delea Pursel each adding 14 points.