Publication Date: Friday, January 21, 2005
Prep Roundup
Plenty of teams in first
Plenty of teams in first
(January 21, 2005) Five boys' basketball teams sit atop their respective divisions
by Keith Peters
The Palo Alto boys' basketball team is in position to control its destiny in the SCVAL De Anza Division race, and can make a big move tonight by beating visiting Milpitas.
The Trojans (3-1) come into the showdown at 7:30 p.m. following a 55-54 overtime loss to visiting Fremont (3-1) on Tuesday night. Palo Alto (4-0, 17-1) remains alone in first place after the Vikings' 62-40 romp over host Homestead.
Paly coach Peter Diepenbrock knows Milpitas will be a real test for his team. The Trojans have a 6-foot-9 center and two high-scoring guards who can cause all kinds of trouble.
"They definitely have enough to beat us," Diepenbrock said.
Palo Alto, on the other hand, has enough to beat Milpitas. It depends, of course, on who shows up for the Vikings and how much they will depend upon junior point guard Jeremy Lin.
Against Homestead, Lin had a hand in everything. He scored a season-high 25 points, had six assists, nine rebounds and set the tone of the game.
"Jeremy Lin did everything," Diepenbrock said.
Senior forward Brian Baskauskas benefited from Lin's ability to get his teammates the ball, scoring 15 points. Junior Steven Brown added nine.
But, as Diepenbrock said, "We were a couple of (Homestead) threes away from being in a real dogfight."
The Vikings will have to be at their best against Milpitas and hope the Trojans don't have a defensive plan to stop Lin.
"They have to win," Diepenbrock said of Milpitas, arguably one loss away from being eliminated from the division title picture.
Palo Alto wasn't the only local team holding on to a league lead Tuesday.
Sacred Heart Prep (8-0, 12-5) extended its Private Schools Athletic League winning streak to 54 straight, but had to go two overtime periods before pulling out a 72-65 victory over visiting Valley Christian-Dublin.
The Gators got a season-high 28 points from junior guard Pat Coffey, who scored 15 points in the two extra periods - 10 coming on free throws. Thomas Donahoe contributed a season-high 22 points. Sacred Heart trailed by four after three quarters before rallying to send the game into overtime. Sophomore Michael McMahon chipped in with 14 points for SHP.
In the Christian Private Schools Athletic League, Mid-Peninsula and Eastside Prep remained tied for first place following easy victories.
Mid-Peninsula (5-0, 12-5) got 18 points from Walter Washington and 12 from Marcus Thomas in a 63-43 win at Mountain View Academy. Eastside Prep (4-0, 13-6) got 20 points, eight steals and seven rebounds from senior Tim Johnson in a 79-28 win over visiting East Palo Alto. Anthony Grady added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers, who will host Mid-Peninsula on Feb. 1 in a game that likely will determine the CPSAL regular-season champion.
In the PAL North Division, Menlo School (5-1, 11-3) suffered its first league loss when Terra Nova came up with a three-pointer with two seconds to play and handed the Knights a 48-47 defeat at home. The loss ended Menlo's seven-game win streak and reduced the Knights' league-lead over second-place El Camino (4-2) and Terra Nova (4-2) to a single game.
Menlo junior forward Blake Schultz led the way with 22 points, 16 coming in the first half. After being held scoreless in the third period, Schultz made a pair of three-pointers early in the fourth quarter, the second pulling Menlo to within 45-43 with 6:49 to play. Schultz did not score after that as both teams missed numerous opportunities to put the game away.
Beau Heidrich, who finished with 13 points, gave Menlo a 47-45 lead with 3:24 to play. Menlo missed two free throws with 1:15 remaining that could have clinched the victory, allowing Terra Nova's Robby Wierzba the opportunity to drain the game-winning trey. Schultz fired up a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer that fell short.
Menlo-Atherton (4-2, 9-7) got 29 points from Dan Trautman and 19 from Chris Dallmar in a 72-63 PAL Bay Division win over visiting Aragon. The victory kept the Bears in a tie for third place with Sequoia heading into tonight's showdown at second-place Woodside (5-1) at 7:45 p.m.
Girls basketball
Konstance Kirkendoll scored 15 points and Alex Shepard added 10 as Menlo (4-2, 9-7) forced a three-way tie for second place in the PAL North Division with a 48-46 victory over Terra Nova in Pacifica. Kirkendoll provided the game-winning points with a 17-footer from the baseline with two seconds left in the game. Terra Nova (4-2) and Oceana (4-2) also are tied, two games behind division-leading Westmoor (6-0) heading into Friday's games that wrap up the first half of the league season.
Girls soccer
Menlo School (3-3-2, 7-4-3) moved within a point of third place in the PAL Bay Division with a 1-0 victory over host Woodside on Tuesday. Ariel Rogers scored off an assist from Kelley Finch for the Knights' winning goal.
Menlo-Atherton (4-4, 9-6-1) remained in third place despite a 3-0 loss to first-place Carlmont.
Gunn (2-3, 4-5-2) moved up in the De Anza Division standings as junior Emi Sullivan scored three goals in a 3-0 victory over visiting Los Altos.
Boys soccer
Gunn (5-0-1, 14-1-2) strengthened it grip on first place in the De Anza Division with a 4-0 romp over host Monta Vista. Anton Horwath, Alex Guzinski, Gilmar Arellano and Ian Barnett all scored for the Titans.
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