Campbell Hall settles in and prepares for big game tonight

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Got off the phone with Terry Kelly, the boys’ basketball coach over at Campbell Hall, a few minutes ago after a 10-plus minute talk about tonight’s Southern Section playoff game. He informed me his team took every precaution necessary to be prepared for the Division III-AA quarterfinal showdown at 7:30 p.m. against host Santa Maria St. Joseph.

That meant leaving the North Hollywood campus around noon today in order for a three-hour trip up north. The Vikings arrived in plenty of time, so Kelly put in a call to an old friend, Tom Mott, the athletic director at Hancock College. Next thing you know, Jrue Holiday and his teammates were on the Bulldogs’ home court, in the midst of an all important walkthrough.

‘In some ways, we feel right at home,’’ Kelly said. ‘We understand what’s at stake in this game. We’ve been down this road before. We know we’re going to be playing in a hostile environment. It’s nothing new for us. That said, we thought it best to make sure the kids were focused. And believe me, they’re ready.’’

The top-seeded Vikings have had a relatively easy time in postseason play thus far, defeating Brentwood, Azusa and Montebello by an average of 43 points a game. Can’t imagine the Knights putting up much of a fight either. But just in case St. Joseph does, I’m supposed to be getting text message updates from Campbell Hall’s staff throughout the game, so I’ll keep everyone updated.

-- Sean Ceglinsky