HS HOOPS: La Canada will be underdog again in Campbell Hall rematch

One year after giving eventual CIF State champion Campbell Hall of North Hollywood all it could handle in a four-point loss in last year’s Div. III-AA championship game, La Canada is the underdog once more against the Vikings Tuesday in the section semifinals at Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood.

“I think it’s a challenge. We’re playing very well but obviously Campbell Hall is one of the premier teams in the state,” La Canada coach Tom Hofman said. “We might have to play over our heads to compete, but we’re here and we’re going to give it our best shot.”

Last year, La Canada relied almost exclusively on its star center, Adam Malik, now a red-shirt at UC Davis. Will Baldwin, a reserve last year, is the only experienced returnee, and he is the Spartans leading scorer with 17.5 points per game.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com