Basketball Game Preview: La Jolla Vikings vs. Academy of Our Lady of Peace Pilots

The La Jolla Vikings will square off against the Academy of Our Lady of Peace Pilots at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. La Jolla is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.6 points per game this season.

La Jolla is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering High Tech SD just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Storm by a score of 54-51. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Vikings have suffered since December 18, 2024.

Despite their defeat, La Jolla saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Drew Bennett, who went 5 for 12 en route to 15 points and four steals, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Reagan Bennett, who posted 19 points along with seven boards and three steals.

Even though they lost, La Jolla smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 16 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Academy of Our Lady of Peace was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 18th straight loss dating back to last season. They had to suffer through a 65-24 loss at the hands of San Diego. The Pilots were down 50-18 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.

La Jolla's defeat dropped their record down to 13-7. As for Academy of Our Lady of Peace, their loss dropped their record down to 0-17.

La Jolla came up short against Academy of Our Lady of Peace in their previous meeting back in December of 2017, falling 42-30. Thankfully for La Jolla, Bailey Gehler (who almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.