Gunn High gets an early start in the Central Coast Section boys basketball and boys soccer playoffs, with both playing on Tuesday.
The soccer team has the unenviable task of playing at No. 2 seed Watsonville (11-6-3) at 7 pm. Getting there may be the biggest challenge, with the recent storms vexing road conditions.
Gunn (10-6-3) went 4-0-1 over its last five games to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Titans were one of the last teams to qualify, doing so in a tie-breaker that also involved Andrew Hill and South San Francisco.
Key wins for Gunn include an early-season decision over Homestead, the fifth seed in the Open Division, and a late-season victory over second-place Saratoga. The Titans also tied El Camino Division champions Fremont.
The Titans are two years removed from winning the El Camino Division and winning a CCS game under coach Ken Luis. In the De Anza Division last year, Gunn’s only win was against Fremont.
Watsonville opened the season as everybody’s pick to win the Open Division title. The Wildcatz struggled during the middle of the season but finished with a five-match winning streak.
The Gunn boys basketball team showed both sides of its split personality this season, winning nine of its first 11 games but losing six of its last seven.
The 12th-seeded Titans (12-11) host Westmont (11-13) at 7 p.m. Tuesday hoping to find the right combination for a run in the CCS tournament.
Jeffrey Lee-Heidenreich, also an accomplished high jumper, has been Gunn’s scoring leader most of the year. The Titans lost to Leigh in a first-round CCS game last year.
Gunn and Westmont have played six common opponents, and all with the same results. The only difference is the Titans’ league win over Los Gatos, the No. 2 seed in Division I.
The winner advances to play at fifth-seeded Westmoor-Daly City on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Kehillah Jewish (8-10) and No. 12 seed Mid-Peninsula (9-11) play for third time this season. The Dragons won the first two, by nine points and by eight points. They met a week ago in the regular-season finaole of the PSAL North.
Rams’ Sam Feldman scored 14 and 15 points against Mid-Peninsula the first two times they played.
The winner gets host Pinewood at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Los Altos Hills resident Kyle McGraw has been The Nueva School’s leading scorer all year. He’s recorded double-figures in all but two of the games he’s played and averages 18.2.
The Mavericks (18-4) finished second to Alma Heights Christian. No. 8 Nueva hosts No. 9 Oakwood (22-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m.