January 20, 2006

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Palo Alto Online

Paly out to keep a streak

by Keith Peters

Peter Diepenbrock has some vivid memories of his first season coaching the Palo Alto boys' basketball team. Not all of the memories were good ones.

One such game he'd like to forget was his first-ever home game against rival Gunn. It took place Jan. 17, 1998 and Diepenbrock recalls the final moments as if they were yesterday.

"We're shooting a one-and-one with something like two seconds left," Diepenbrock said. "We're up by one and we miss. Our guy goes for a rebound and gets fouled. So Gunn goes down to shoot a one-and-one, but they miss. But this big guy (Fred Shepherd) grabs the rebound and puts it back in at the buzzer (for a 41-40 Gunn win). And the place went crazy. It was just a bizarre finish."

That was the last, and only, time Gunn has won on the Vikings' court during Diepenbrock's eight years at Palo Alto. The Titans are 1-7 during that time.

Gunn junior Peter Jordan was in the third grade the last time the Titans defeated Palo Alto on the Vikings' home court. Most likely, he had no idea about the rivalry between the schools. He does now. Moreover, he'd like to change his team's history of losing at Paly.

That opportunity arrives tonight at 7:45 p.m., when Palo Alto (4-0, 17-1) plays host to Gunn (4-0, 13-5) in a showdown for sole possession of first place in the SCVAL De Anza Division race.

Jordan has been in one game that was close. It was his freshman year in 2004 and Paly needed a three-pointer to tie in the waning seconds before winning it in regulation, 49-46. Aside from that, the outcomes during his career haven't been close. The other game in '04 was Paly by 52-33. Last season, the Titans fell by 65-37 and 69-27. In the latter game, Paly went on a 37-0 run and Jordan was held to a career-low four points.

Heading into tonight's game, Jordan is averaging 25.3 points a game following a 29-point outburst Wednesday during a 76-63 win over visiting Fremont. At the same time, Palo Alto was defeating host Los Gatos, 63-40.

Gunn's victory, which gives the Titans their longest De Anza Division winning streak ever, was only the second over Fremont in the past five years. The Firebirds hold an 8-2 edge during that period.

Gunn got out to a 20-14 lead and then got in complete control in the second period as it went on a 10-0 run midway through and went into half leading 42-24.

"We played a good second quarter," said Gunn coach Chris Redfield. "We had balanced scoring and a lot of guys contributed."

In addition to Jordan's 29, junior David Riley added 18 points and Bernard Anthony had nine and fellow guard Michael Wong scored eight.

Fremont challenged in the fourth period as it hit three pointers early in the period and got numerous offensive rebounds for easy baskets.

"We gave up seven offensive rebounds in the final period and we have to improve on that," Redfield said.

An emphatic dunk by Gunn's 6-8 Niel Brennan gave the Titans a 68-53 lead with 2:56 to go.

Jordan connected on 10 of 14 shots from the floor while Riley made nine of 11.

Palo Alto was equally impressive with its free-throw shooting against Los Gatos. The Vikings made a season-high 26 (in 35 attempts) with senior guard Jeremy Lin hitting 12 of 14 shots, and fellow seniors Cooper Miller (7 for 9) and Kheaton Scott (5 for 7) also cashing in.

Los Gatos was hot early and actually led by 26-24 at halftime. In the second half, the Wildcats cooled off and Paly heated up. Miller came up with handful of steals and the Vikings began their parade to the free-throw line.

"We didn't play bad defensively in the first half," Diepenbrock said. "They (Los Gatos) just shot the ball well. In the second half, we got some steals and, obviously, some foul shots."

Lin finished with 16 points, eight assists and one turnover. Scott had 17 points while Miller scored 13 and had five steals. Senior Steven Brown returned after missing three games with a sprained ankle and scored five points with nine rebounds.

In the Christian Private Schools Athletic League, Mid-Peninsula remained atop the South Division standings at 3-0 (12-3 overall) with a 68-44 win at Mountain View Academy. Junior Jamar Williams led the way with 21 points but got plenty of support from senior David Cruz (a season-high 15 points), junior Bruce Grady (12 points) and senior Ben Capon (10 points).

In the Private Schools Athletic League, Sacred Heart Prep (6-0, 10-3) won its 68th straight league game with a 72-49 romp over visiting Redwood Christian on Tuesday. Senior Pat Coffey led the Gators with 25 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Sophomore Anthony Bertolocci scored a season-high 15 points while juniors Michael McMahon and Greg Casciaro each scored 10. Casciaro added five rebounds and four blocked shots.

Pinewood (4-2, 8-5) won its fourth straight game with a 39-38 win over visiting Valley Christian-Dublin. Michel Nofal tallied 16 points to lead the Panthers.

Woodside Priory (1-4, 5-6) earned its first league win as senior Hap Plain sank five three-pointers and finished with 28 points in a 58-30 thumping of visiting Fremont Christian. Reggie Willhite added 13 for the Panthers.

In the PAL South Division, Menlo (2-1, 13-3) remained a game back of first-place Sequoia with a 40-32 win over host Carlmont. Blake Schultz led the Knights with 11 points. Sequoia stayed on top with a 64-42 win over Menlo-Atherton (1-2, 11-7).

Girls basketball

Palo Alto will host Gunn tonight (6:15 p.m.) following a shocking 43-42 overtime loss at Los Gatos on Tuesday. The Vikings (3-1, 15-4), who had beaten undefeated Wilcox and Milpitas last week, found themselves trailing against the winless Wildcats and didn't get back in the game until senior Bre Clay scored at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

Paly grabbed the lead in the extra period but fell behind again after turning the ball over. That was the problem all game long as the Vikings had 33 turnovers in 70 possessions.

"This was a team loss," said Paly coach Scott Peters, whose players have been taking finals all week.

Gunn (2-2, 8-8), meanwhile, overcame a dismal first half to post a 41-32 win over visiting Santa Clara. Senior Leanne Perricone led the Titans with 13 points and freshman Jasmine Evans added 12.

"I couldn't believe the first half," said Gunn coach Sebastian Poitier, whose team trailed by 11-7 at halftime. "We missed 10 layups. Nothing was going in."

The Titans exploded for 21 points in the fourth quarter after finally settling down and concentrating on fundamentals.

In the West Bay Athletic League, Castilleja (4-1, 9-6) remained in title contention with a solid 43-34 road win over Harker. Sophomore Marion Cohn led the Gators with 13 points.

In the PAL South Division, Menlo-Atherton (2-1, 14-4) dropped out of a first-place tie with Carlmont following a 38-34 loss to visiting Sequoia. Christina Dixon's 12 points led the Bears.

Boys soccer

Palo Alto and Gunn found themselves in a three-way tie for second after matches earlier this week. The Vikings (3-1-2, 5-5-3) gave up a second-half goal and fell to first-place Homestead (5-1) by a 1-0 count. The Titans (3-1-2, 7-3-5) bounced back from a lackluster first half to beat Monta Vista, 2-0 at De Anza College on Tuesday.

Both Paly and Gunn are tied with Mountain View, which hosted the Vikings on Thursday. Gunn will visit the Spartans on Tuesday to possibly further re-arrange the SCVAL De Anza Division race.

Ian Barnett and Rigel Marcinik scored for Gunn against Monta Vista.

In the PAL Bay Division, senior Andrew Smith scored all three goals for Menlo-Atherton (3-5, 6-8)in a 3-2 win at Menlo School (0-8, 3-11). He scored on a header off a corner kick, a shot from 20 yards out and another header on a throw-in to clinch the victory.

Girls soccer

Palo Alto (3-2, 4-5-1) moved into third place in the De Anza Division with a 2-1 win over visiting Homestead on Tuesday. Senior Kathy Nolan scored both goals, the first on an assist from Sarah Flamm.

In the PAL Bay Division, Menlo (5-1-1, 8-2-1) fell into third place following a scoreless tie with visiting Aragon, while Menlo-Atherton (3-4, 7-7-1) moved into fourth with a 2-0 win over Mills as junior Kaitlin McGhee scored twice.

In the West Bay Athletic League, Woodside Priory (3-0-2, 7-0-2) remained atop the standings as Cami Simpson and Sarah Montgomery each scored three goals in a 7-0 rout of Mercy-San Francisco.

Castilleja (2-3, 5-5) got goals from Christina Skieller, Kelly Schryver, Lauren Dunec and Katie Fitzgerald in a 4-0 win over Harker at El Camino Park.

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