In the SCVAL De Anza Division race, Palo Alto (3-3, 10-9) fell two full games back of co-leaders Milpitas and Los Gatos--both with 5-1 records--following a 74-59 setback to Lynbrook on Wednesday night.
Playing their second home game on the road following a fire in the Paly gym, the Vikings saw no homecourt advantage in matching up with their namesake.
Foul trouble was the name of this game, especially after Paly had taken a 50-47 lead after three quarters. In the final seven minutes, that lead disappeared as Lynbrook outscored Paly, 27-9. During that time, Palo Alto lost both Bruce Powell and Tony Ara to fouls--Powell departing with 2:11 left and Ara exiting with 1:35 to play.
Paly still was close at 63-57 when Powell took a seat on the bench with 23 points. The loss of his quickness and defensive pressure quickly was felt as Lynbrook steadily pulled away.
Aside from the foul troubles, Paly had no player to match up with Lynbrook's 6-foot-6 Craig Gunderson, who sparked his team in the second half by scoring 17 of his team-high 23 points.
"Gunderson got a little tougher in the fourth quarter," noted Paly coach Jim Forthoffer.
Paly, which has tonight off, will play its most crucial stretch of games next week when it visits Milpitas on Wednesday and Los Gatos on Friday. A sweep of those teams will thrust the Vikings right back in the division race, while being swept will all but eliminate the Vikings.
Pinewood, meanwhile, saw its title hopes dim somewhat following a 60-53 loss to league-leader Redwood Christian (6-0) in a Private Schools Athletic League game at Los Altos Hills.
The Panthers (4-2, 11-10) got 18 points from John Neil and 16 from Adam Bingham, but little offensive support elsewhere in falling two full games behind Redwood Christian.
In the Peninsula Athletic League (Southern Division), Menlo-Atherton (3-3, 12-6) finds itself three games out of first place following a 66-57 setback at Capuchino on Wednesday.
After trailing by 18 points earlier in the game, M-A rallied to within 54-51 with four minutes to play. Floor leader Damien Strahorn, however, had fouled out a minute earlier, eliminating a key component to the Bears' attack.
Andre Harris paced M-A with 16 points while junior center Billy Brooks added 11.
In other games, Gunn (0-6, 4-13) played without leading scorer Randy Jackson and suffered a 58-29 SCVAL De Anza Division loss to host Milpitas; Menlo School (1-5, 7-11) got a season-high 22 points from sophomore Brad Scheppler in a 59-43 loss to visiting Fremont Christian; and Mid-Peninsula (2-4, 5-10) got 19 points from Tony Clarida in an 86-41 thrashing at the hands of The King's Academy.
--Keith Peters
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