Palo Alto boys' basketball raising Palo Alto boys' basketball raising (December 17, 2003)some eyebrows after tourney title

by Keith Peters

Peter Diepenbock is used to having family and friends pat him on the back and congratulate him after a basketball game.

This season, however, the congratulations have gone to a whole different level.

After Palo Alto polished off Galt, 77-43, to win the Cougar Classic in Half Moon Bay last Saturday night, Diepenbrock was almost stunned by the response he received.

"I had a bunch of old coaching friends come up to me afterwards," Diepenbrock said. "They all go, 'you've never had a team at Palo Alto close to this talented.'"

After the Vikings had taken apart Sacred Heart Cathedral in the semifinals, 62-40, the reaction was even more to the point.

"I had a least five people come up after the game, and they go 'Oh, my, God," Diepenbrock recalled. "Sacred Heart is a pretty nice team. They're going to win some games in that (WCAL) league. We absolutely dismantled them. Sacred Heart was definitely 20 points better than Galt."

So, why all the praise this season for the Vikings?

"We're playing like I thought we were going to play," Diepenbrock said. "We have depth. I've never been able to play nine with no qualms."

Palo Alto (6-1) used its talent and depth during three impressive wins in the Cougar Classic. The Vikings averaged 69 points a game, shooting better than 63 percent from the floor, and allowed an average of 43.3 points a game.

Paly received help from all over during the weekend. Sophomore point guard Jeremy Lin was named Most Valuable Player, based on his heady play and overall contribution. He scored 27 points, dished 13 assists, had 12 rebounds, 10 steals and turned the ball over just six times.

"He just makes great decisions," Diepenbrock said of Lin.

Junior forward Brian Baskauskas scored 54 points and grabbed 25 rebounds in the three wins to earn all-tournament honors while sophomore Cooper Miller (36 points, 15 rebounds), senior Ben Schwartz (20 points) and junior center Greg Walder (25 points, 10 rebounds) all contributed, as well.

Palo Alto played host to Woodside on Tuesday in a rematch of their CCS semifinal last season, which the Vikings won. Diepenbrock said the game had "seeding ramifications."

After a Saturday home game against Hillsdale, the Vikings will be tested again when they visit St. Francis on Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. The Lancers recently knocked off Milpitas, which will face Palo Alto twice in the SCVAL De Anza Division season.

Gunn (4-2) finished off a solid performance in the Burlingame Invitational last week as the Titans won the consolation title with a 71-63 victory over University. Freshman Peter Jordan continued his fine play by scoring 21 points. He scored 22 in a 67-54 consolation semifinal win over Los Altos.

Senior Chris Mugler had 30 points in the two victories while Doug Campbell contributed 18. The Titans, who visited Hillsdale on Tuesday night, open play in the annual Fremont/Sunnyvale Tournament on Thursday.

In nonleague action Saturday, Menlo (4-1) got 12 points from Blake Schultz and some tenacious defense in a 33-25 win at Carmel. The Knights will compete in the Prospect Tournament beginning Wednesday.
Girls basketball

After shooting poorly in a season-opening loss to Presentation, Pinewood warmed up in a hurry and shot the lights out during three straight victories that led to the tournament title of the Notre Dame-Belmont Holiday Classic.

The Panthers made 24 three-pointers during the tourney. Junior point guard Daniela Roark made 12, including six in a 27-point outburst in a 42-36 victory over Notre Dame-Belmont in the championship game.

Roark scored 15 of her team's first 17 points and then scored nine straight points in the final two minutes of the game to clinch the victory. Not too surprisingly, Roark was named MVP of the tournament. Pinewood's Ashley Nell and freshman Samantha Field-Polisso also were named to the all-tournament team.

Pinewood leaves Wednesday for the annual Nike Invitational in Phoenix, Ariz. The event annually attracts some of the nation's finest teams.

Castilleja (6-2) tuned up for this week's Oak Grove Invitational by handling Gunn, 47-26, and Monte Vista Christian, 52-28, in nonleague games last week. Junior guard Mika Peterman moved closer to scoring 1,000 career points with 19 points against Gunn and 15 against MV Christian. She takes 964 career points into the Oak Grove event, needing just 36 points to reach 1,000.

While Peterman moves closer to her milestone, teammate Nikki Perlman has quietly been putting up solid efforts every night. Against Gunn, Perlman had eight points and 14 rebounds. Against Monte Vista Christian, Perlman scored 12 points and grabbed eight boards while Peterman had eight rebounds and eight assists to go with her 15 points.

Palo Alto (5-2) won two of three games last week as a tuneup for the Oak Grove tournament. The Vikings downed visiting Piedmont Hills, 47-35, and then took care of winless Menlo on Saturday, 40-28. Sara Schulte had 20 points in the win over Piedmont Hills.

Menlo-Atherton (2-5) got a season-high 31 points from Meredith Pressfield in a 60-50 victory over Mission San Jose to open the Sonoma Valley Dragon Tournament. The Bears, however, couldn't match that effort in the next two rounds and fell to host Sonoma, 44-39, and Napa, 71-24. Pressfield tallied 55 points in the three games.

Eastside Prep (5-1) continued to look solid with a 71-28 romp over host McClymonds in Oakland on Saturday. Brijitti Crum (17 points), Chantelle Brown (14) and Sade Johnson (10) led the way for the Panthers.
Boys soccer

Gunn (7-0-1) advanced to the semifinals of the annual Homestead Christmas Cup with a 1-0 victory over Santa Cruz on Saturday at Evergreen College in San Jose. Pablo Rivera tallied the winning goal on an assist from Brandon Der.

The Titans will host Palo Alto on Thursday at 3:30 p.m., in their SCVAL De Anza Division opener.

Menlo-Atherton (5-2) missed three starters Saturday and it showed in a 4-0 loss to powerful Watsonville in another Christmas Cup tournament game. The Bears needed a victory to advance to this weekend.

M-A, however, remained undefeated in PAL Bay Division action last week with a 3-1 victory over visiting Half Moon Bay. Xeronimo Castaneda, Javier Hil and Janathan Rodriguez all scored for the Bears.
Girls soccer

Menlo 1-0 (7-1) opened PAL Bay Division action with a big 4-0 romp over host Menlo-Atherton last Friday. Molly Lapolla, Erica Swanson, Kate Bentley and Sara Horton all scored for the Knights, who'll host Carlmont on Thursday in a match rained out last week. Both teams are 1-0 in the division.

In the SCVAL De Anza Division, Gunn will open its league season by visiting defending champion Palo Alto on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. The Titans handed the Vikings their first loss of the season in the semifinals of the Palo Alto Winter Classic.

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