December 21, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Perfect season is over

by Keith Peters

Peter Diepenbrock was pretty philosophical about the first loss suffered by his Palo Alto boys' basketball team this season.

"This is why we go to tournaments like this," Diepenbrock said after the Vikings' 54-49 loss to Price on Monday in the Mission Prep Christian Classic in San Luis Obispo. "We're definitely going to get a good test. It was a very good experience. We need to have games like this."

Well, not all the time. Price (of Los Angeles) has won five of the past six Division V state championships and showed the Vikings why title No. 6 isn't out of the question this season.

"They were as physically gifted as any team I have ever faced," Diepenbrock said. "They were physically at Oak Ridge's level."

Oak Ridge (of El Dorado Hills) ended Palo Alto's 2004-05 season in the Northern California finals with a 55-35 victory.

While the Vikings (8-1) struggled to just get shots off against Oak Ridge last year, that wasn't the case Monday.

"They just sat back in their zone," Diepenbrock said. "We had plenty of open shots and drives, but we didn't shoot the ball particularly well."

Palo Alto trailed by only 21-18 at halftime, "but we were lucky to be down by only three," Diepenbrock said.

Price went to a zone in the second half and took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.

"We were down by only three with 28 seconds left," Diepenbrock said, "But they had the ball and we had to foul. It was one of those games where you know the other team is in control . . . When they got the ball around the basket, there was no question. They finished."

Palo Alto, meanwhile, is far from finished in this tournament. The Vikings were scheduled to face either host Mission Prep, another standout Division V team, or St. Joseph's of Santa Maria on Tuesday night. A final game will be played Wednesday before the Vikings take the weekend off before heading into the St. Francis Tournament that begins Dec. 28.

Paly, which played in Hawaii this time last year and returned home with a tournament title, won its first 13 games of last season before falling in the finals of the St. Francis tourney. The Vikings still have plenty of talent, but need to get to the free-throw line more often in addition to improving their rebounding.

Seniors Jeremy Lin (20 points) and Steven Brown (15) led Paly against Price, while Kheaton Scott and Brad Lehman added six apiece. Scott led the way Saturday, scoring 15 points in a tournament-opening 51-44 win over Campolindo. Lin added 10 points in that victory.

While Paly continues tourney play in San Luis Obispo, Gunn and Eastside Prep are keeping busy closer to home in the annual Fremont/Sunnyvale Holiday Classic.

The Titans (6-4) opened on Saturday with an easy 65-33 win over Independence as 14 players scored for the winners. Peter Jordan led the way with 15 points while fellow 6-5 junior David Riley added 11.

Eastside Prep (5-5) got a season-high 23 points from Ramon Meacham but the Panthers dropped a 53-30 opener to Santa Clara on Saturday. A night earlier, however, Eastside opened its Christian Private Schools Athletic League season with a 44-34 win over host St. Thomas More. It was the Panthers 96th straight win in CPSAL regular-season action. Eastside Prep has never lost a league game in its existence.

In nonleague action, 6-3 junior Michel Nofal produced 16 points in Pinewood's 61-13 romp over Liberty Baptist as the Panthers improved to 5-1. Hap Plain scored a career-high 33 points, but it went for naught as Woodside Priory (4-2) fell to Drew Prep on Saturday, 60-43.

Girls basketball

Defending Division V state champion Pinewood (5-1) didn't have much time to enjoy its 55-42 win over Mills in the championship of the Pinewood Classic on Saturday. The Panthers boarded a plane early Sunday for Arizona, where Pinewood is playing in the annual Nike Invitational that runs through Wednesday.

The Nike event brings together many of the top teams in the nation, providing Pinewood with arguably its toughest competition of the season.

The Panthers tuned up for the Nike tourney with three solid efforts to win their inaugural tournament. After crushing Piedmont Hills in the opening round, 61-30, the Panthers handled Presentation, 61-46, and then Mills in the finals.

"We beat Presentation by 15 and we beat a good Mills team by 12, and we're glad for that," said Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler.

Pinewood, which shot horribly during the three-game Notre Dame-Belmont tournament a week ago, improved its marksmanship last weekend. The Panthers made 20 three-pointers in the three wins and tightened their defense.

Mills, for example, made only three of 33 shots in the first half of the championship game while Pinewood scored 30 points in the second quarter to take a 39-10 halftime lead.

Senior Liz Altmaier led the way in the finals with 18 points. She made five three-pointers, knocking down three in the second quarter when the Panthers made 12 of 15 field goals. Altmaier had 51 points in the three wins while 6-2 sophomore Aly Geppert contributed 39.

In the semifinal win over Presentation, Pinewood made 24 of 47 shots. A week earlier in a 42-40 Pinewood win over Prez, the Panthers made only 17 of 61 shots.

"You don't have to look any further than that," Scheppler said.

Menlo-Atherton (8-1) matched Pinewood's effort with a three-game sweep of the Half Moon Bay Tournament. The Bears outscored Lowell (San Francisco), 65-58; held off Capuchino, 56-42, and downed South San Francisco in the championship game, 61-39.

Menlo-Atherton juniors Christina Dixon, Sigourney Jellins and Brittany Wilson all were named to the all-tournament team. Dixon scored 39 points in the three games, topped by a 23-point effort in the opener. Jellins had a high game of 12 points against Lowell while Wilson was a spark on defense.

Senior forward Karley Marty contributed 31 points, getting 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the title game.

At the Oak Grove Holiday Classic, Palo Alto (7-3) bounced back from a first-round loss to win three straight and claim the consolation finals title. Senior Bre Clay was named to the all-tournament team. She scored 10 points in a 60-32 win over North Monterey County in the final round, plus 16 in a 52-46 triumph over Independence in the consolation semifinals. She totaled 44 points in the four games.

Sophomore Nicole Behr tallied 15 points in the final game while freshman Rachael Pecota scored 15 in the semifinals for first-year coach Scott Peters.

In the Burlingame Tournament, Menlo (7-3) finished third following a 50-36 win over Monta Vista. Aly Shepard scored 16 points and was named to the all-tournament team for the Knights.

At the Westmont West Valley Classic, Castilleja freshman Ericka von Kaeppler scored a career-high 22 points in a 59-45 loss to Woodside in the consolation semifinals.

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