SPIRITS HOPE BIG WIN SETS SEASON'S TONE : FREE THROWS KEY TO TEAM'S VICTORIES.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

Paraclete High School boys' basketball coach Allen Adams hopes his team's landmark victory over Littlerock on Monday night will signal the start of a landmark season.

The 59-58 road victory was the first for the 700-student parochial school against Littlerock, a public school with an enrollment of 2,400. The triumph also ended a streak of three consecutive losses to the Lobos for Adams.

``It definitely gets us ready for league playing tough games against public schools,'' Adams said.

The third-year coach will try for his first victory against another Golden League opponent Friday night when Paraclete (3-2) plays host to Quartz Hill.

Next week, the Spirits have road games against Central Section power Garces of Bakersfield and Tehachapi, a school the Spirits have not beaten since 1988.

In January, Paraclete will compete in the L.A. Baptist tournament before the Spirits begin High Desert League play against Rosamond. Last season, Paraclete shared the league title with the Roadrunners with a 7-3 record.

Center Josh Foster and guard Tony Gaeta are returners from last year's team which lost in the first round of the Southern Section Division IV-AA playoffs to eventual champion St. Bernard.

Foster, a 6-foot-5-inch, 225-pound junior, is averaging 11.6 points and 8 rebounds and Gaeta, a 6-3 senior, leads the team in scoring at 16 points a game.

Gaeta scored a season-high 21 points against Littlerock, converting 11 of 11 free-throw attempts. Point guard Travis Jackson sank two free throws with 13 seconds to play for a 59-55 lead, culminating a comeback from an eight-point second-half deficit.

Perhaps most impressive, however, was the fact the Spirits played most of the game without Foster because of foul trouble and starting forward Jason Julius, 6-6, who did not play because of illness.

Peter Cich, a 6-5 junior forward, grabbed 11 rebounds and 6-3 sophomore David Brown helped pick up the slack underneath the boards. Guards Saul Spykerman, Danny Parra and Chris Kingsley also came off the bench to boost the backcourt.

``We moved the ball well and we were able to come back without Julius and Josh,'' Cich said. ``We feel prepared to play with bigger schools. The biggest thing to stay even with Quartz Hill is to execute.''

Improved free-throw shooting has been the key to the Spirits' turnaround from a 0-2 start.

The Spirits suffered a 54-53 season-opening defeat against Aquinas after making only 4 of 11 free throws.

Paraclete made only 13 of 25 free throws in a 55-51 loss to Temescal Canyon in the first round of the Nordhoff tournament but rebounded to beat Wilshire West 77-27 on 12 of 18 shooting from the line. The Spirits made 33 of 43 against Thacher 84-64 to win the consolation title.

Against Littlerock, Paraclete came through with a season-best 11 of 14.

``Early in the season, we took our lumps because of our shooting,'' Allen said. ``We're not a running team; we have to pick our shots. We have to stay within the system, look for an open layup or work the ball inside. In the beginning, we were so nervous and eager to play we didn't make the adjustments.''