February 02, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Paly boys grab control of league race

by Keith Peters

With a 7-0 record in SCVAL De Anza Division play with five games remaining, having beaten its closest challenger twice, the Palo Alto boys' basketball team should be counting the days before they clinch the league title and perhaps finish with an undefeated division record.

Vikings' coach Peter Diepenbrock says it's nothing of the sort.

"Honestly, we don't get caught up in the standings," he said. "I'm not too wrapped up about that. All we talk about is what we do well, need to do and what's next. They're a veteran squad. It's a pretty serious group."

While Palo Alto is 7-0 in the De Anza Division following last Saturday's 78-60 thumping of second-place Fremont (5-2), a victory that improved the Vikings' overall record to 20-1, the team is spending each game making the proper preparations for a run deep into the postseason.

Palo Alto went 25-4 last season and lost in the second-round of the Central Coast Section playoffs. The Vikings are flat-out better this season and should find themselves in the NorCal playoffs come March - especially if they continue to play like they did against Fremont.

"I thought it was our best game of the year," Diepenbrock said, "because we had a real nice flow offensively. Guys were making good decisions."

Despite having to play back-to-back games - the Vikings knocked off host Los Gatos on Friday by 56-41 - Paly came into the showdown knowing it could gain some important ground with a victory. Third-place Milpitas (4-3) already had fallen off the pace with a one-point loss to Homestead, leaving the Fremont game as arguably the last real challenge remaining on the division schedule.

While Saturday's game was more up-tempo than Paly's previous win over the Firebirds (63-41), Diepenbrock was pleased to see how his team adjusted to the pace.

"I like the idea that the team has showed during the course of the season that we can play at different paces, which is a good thing," said Diepenbrock, who didn't mind giving up 60 points to Fremont, which made 13 three-points. "You just have to be ready to give up points."

After racing to a 48-26 halftime lead, Diepenbrock talked to his assistants.

"There's not a lot to change here," he told them.

Fremont scratched back to within 60-50 with 6:30 remaining in the game, but Paly then clamped down defensively and held the Firebirds scoreless over the next 3:45 as the Vikings continuously broke Fremont's press for easy layins. Cooper Miller scored five of his 11 points during that stretch. Fremont ended its drought with a three-pointers but Paly senior Brian Baskauskas answered with a trey of his own. A few moments later, Baskauskas made a layin, was fouled and made the free throw to finish off a game-high 25-point, seven-rebound effort. Junior guard Jeremy Lin added 13 points and broke the Fremont press with his sharp passing. He finished with 14 assists and eight rebounds. Nathan Ford and Martin Mouton came off the bench for nine points apiece, with Mouton adding eight rebounds.

In the win over Los Gatos, Lin had 13 points and nine assists while Mouton had a team-leading eight rebounds.

Up next for Palo Alto will be Friday's game at Gunn (4-4, 11-10), which moved back into postseason contention with back-to-back victories. The Titans knocked off host Mountain View on Friday, 71-57, as sophomores David Riley (23) and Peter Jordan (21) combined for more than half the Titans' points. Gunn shot 88.2 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 65 percent (28 for 43) .

Gunn wasn't as hot on Saturday against host Los Gatos, but still came away with a 59-36 victory as Jordan (18) and Riley (14) once again led the way. Junior Matt Johnson added 13 points.

The Titans had to visit Fremont on Tuesday as a tuneup for Friday's game against Paly.

In the PAL North Division, Menlo also played back-to-back games but didn't find the success that Paly and Gunn did. The Knights (7-3, 13-5) knocked off Westmoor, 55-31, but then fell on the road to South San Francisco, 57-51, to fall into a four-way tie for first place.

Menlo, which has lost three of its past five games, can regain control of the division by knocking off co-leaders Oceana (Tuesday), El Camino (Friday) and Terra Nova (Feb. 8).

In the PAL South Division, Dan Trautman's sprained ankle suffered in last week's win over Hillsdale, came back to hurt Menlo-Atherton on Friday as the Trautman-less Bears fell to host Sequoia, 48-40. Carson Finkle stepped it up for M-A with 20 points but no other teammate scored more than six points as the Bears (5-4, 10-9) fell to fifth place.

Having Trautman healthy again is crucial for the Bears, who finish the regular season with three of five games against teams ahead of them in the standings.

In the Christian Private Schools Athletic League, Mid-Peninsula (8-0, 15-5) and Eastside Prep (7-0, 17-6) tuned up for Tuesday night's showdown for the league title with easy victories last Friday. The Dragons routed Bridgemont, 83-34, as Walter Washington scored 20 points and Jamar Williams added 19. The Panthers held Downtown College Prep to just three points in the second half on the way to a 59-12 rout as Marquis Pickrom led the way with 18 points.

In the Private Schools Athletic League, Sacred Heart Prep (10-0, 13-5) held on to a two-game lead with a 70-36 rout of visiting Woodside Priory. Pat Coffey (19) and Michael McMahon (17) led the Gators, who won their 56th straight PSAL game.

Girls basketball

Eastside Prep (16-6) perhaps earned a higher seed for the CCS Division V playoffs by knocking off host Castilleja (9-7) on Saturday, 51-37, in a nonleague test.

With Pinewood the likely No. 1 seed and Sacred Heart Prep the No. 2 seed, Eastside Prep moved into the third slot (and perhaps into a semifinal berth opposite SHP) while Castilleja now appears the No. 4 seed. That would earn the Gators a berth opposite defending champion Pinewood in the section semifinals.

Brijitti Crum (16) and Sharissa McDaniel (14) led Eastside Prep while Mika Peterman (14) and Nikki Perlman (10) led Castilleja, which lost Alissa Flesher to club volleyball fulltime last week. Perlman, meanwhile, has been playing hurt. She had two teeth knocked out in the second quarter of a loss to Notre Dame-San Jose on Jan. 21. She underwent surgery last Tuesday to have the teeth re-inserted and was back at practice that afternoon. Two days later, she scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 45-33 win over Harker.

"She now plays with here mouth guard from water polo," said Castilleja coach Jez McIntosh. "She is one tough kid."

Palo Alto also is hobbling these days. The Vikings (4-4, 14-9) held off visiting Lynbrook last Saturday, 50-41, but did so without starters Bre Clay and Amber Jones. Clay has a torn ACL and is having surgery on Feb. 24. She'll be lost for the season. Jones sprained an ankle in Friday's loss at first-place Los Gatos and, according to coach Amy Stock, will be out for an undetermined amount of time.

"It could be weeks that she is out," Stock said. "We are short on bodies, at this point, with four league games left. The girls did a good job of pulling it together Saturday night so we are hoping they can do that again at least four more times and into CCS."

Ranecia Fields led Paly against Lynbrook with 17 points while Megan Grant contributed 16 and Melody Gaal added 14. All are juniors.

In the PAL North, Menlo School (6-4, 11-9) began this week in a four-way tie for second place after downing host South San Francisco, 50-35, Friday as Alex Shepard and Kontance Kirkendoll combined for 26 points.

In the PSAL, Pinewood (6-0, 13-5) continued to roll toward another league title with a 83-21 romp over Fremont Christian. The Panthers made 12 three-pointers and had five players in double figures, led by Liz Altmaier (15) and Aly Geppert (15).

Wrestling

Gunn improved to 6-0 in the SCVAL El Camino Division this season and 16-0 over two years with a 69-9 pinning of visiting Homestead last week. The Titans won 12 of 14 matches, six by forfeit that earned them 36 points.

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