Publication Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2004
CCS BASKETBALL
Second
Second
(February 25, 2004)season
under way
Paly boys' coach
hopes his top squad
shows up in opener
by Keith Peters
Peter Diepenbrock isn't sure which of his Palo Alto boys' basketball teams is going to show up Wednesday in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs.
Will it be the team that shot well and played well in a 63-54 nonleague win over San Leandro last week? Or, the team that shot poorly and had to claw and scrape out a 51-45 "ugly" win over host Los Gatos in an SCVAL De Anza Division finale that earned the Vikings (11-1) a share of the league crown with Milpitas?
Diepenbrock will discover which one when the No. 2-seeded Vikings (24-3) play host to No. 15 Santa Clara (13-12) at 7 p.m.
The teams already have met once this season, on Jan. 27 when Paly produced a 52-42 victory.
"They played us tough," Diepenbrock recalled. "It was a tough game to play, a nonleague game in the middle of the league season. Hopefully, we'll play better."
The Vikings held only a 27-26 halftime lead over Santa Clara in that first game and had to rely on a 16-point outburst by sophomore point guard Jeremy Lin to pull out the victory.
If Diepenbrock has any concerns, it's that his team - despite its size - has a hard time getting easy baskets inside. On the plus side, Paly's defense has been downright dominating at times.
"Our defense gives our offense a chance," Diepenbrock said. "We just have to get enough shots."
A win by Paly will put the Vikings into Saturday's quarterfinals at Oak Grove High, against either No. 7 Aptos (17-12) or No. 10 North Salinas (17-10) at 6:15 p.m.
Ninth-seeded Gunn (15-12) also will open Division II play Wednesday, visiting No. 8 Westmont (19-8). The winner will advance to Saturday's quarterfinal against No. 1 Serra (21-4) at Oak Grove High at 4:30 p.m.
The Titans earned a tie for third in the De Anza Division by winning twice last week, including a 58-50 win over Homestead on Friday. Freshman Peter Jordan poured in 29 points to lead the way.
In boys' Division I play, No. 4 Menlo-Atherton (22-5) will open Saturday against No. 5 San Benito (20-6) at Santa Clara High at 4:30 p.m. The Bears are coming off a 59-57 loss to Burlingame in the semifinals of the PAL playoffs last week. Junior Dan Trautman had 26 points in the game.
A win by the Bears on Saturday will earn them a shot at No. 1 Piedmont Hills (24-2) on March 3.
In Division V action Saturday, top-seeded Eastside Prep (24-1) will open defense of its title at home against No. 8 Fremont Christian (13-11) at 4:30 p.m. Second-seeded Sacred Heart Prep (23-2) will play host to No. 7 North Valley Baptist (19-8) at 6:15 p.m., while No. 4 Mid-Peninsula (19-6) will host No. 5 King's Academy (13-12) at 1 p.m.
Eastside Prep is favored to advance to the semifinals on March 2 at Sacred Heart Prep along with the host Gators. Eastside and SHP should meet in the finals, March 6. Sacred Heart wrapped up a second-straight undefeated season (16-0) in the Private Schools Athletic League with a 70-34 win over King's Academy last Friday.
Girls
Six local teams earned berths into the CCS tournament, with No. 5 Palo Alto and No. 16 Gunn opening first in Division II.
The Vikings (21-6), which finished in a three-way tie for first in the SCVAL De Anza Division, plays host to No. 12 Woodside on Thursday at 7 p.m. Gunn (8-13) played host to No. 17 Yerba Buena (10-15) on Tuesday night, with the winner of that game visiting No. 1 Mitty (22-4) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Paly is favored to advance to Saturday's quarterfinals at Mt. Pleasant High, where the Vikings likely will face No. 4 Leland (19-5). Leland opens against Los Gatos, a team Palo Alto beat last Friday, 43-38.
Division V is where the action is this weekend, with four local teams battling for two NorCal berths.
Eastside Prep (20-4) will take its No. 3 against No. 6 Valley Christian-Dublin on Saturday at Mercy-San Francisco at 1 p.m. Fourth-seeded Castilleja (22-6) will open against No. 5 Redwood Christian (17-7) at 11 a.m.
Eastside Prep should advance to one semifinal against No. 2 Sacred Hearet Prep (12-14) on March 2, while Castilleja should meet No. 1 Pinewood (15-9) in the other semifinal. Both are at Mercy-San Francisco.
E-mail a friend a link to this story. | 
