For the third time this season, the Mountain View High boys basketball team won without reaching 40 points. The visiting Spartans took down Palo Alto 38-29 Thursday to remain in the race for first place in the SCVAL De Anza Division.
“Jeff (LaMere, Paly’s coach) told me after the game that we turned basketball back about 300 years,” Mountain View coach Kevin Mack said. “Offensively, maybe, but not defensively – we both played well.”
The Spartans, who six days earlier fell at home to Paly 48-36, Thursday held the Vikings to just two points in the second quarter and led 14-10 at halftime.
“The guys were locked in and played team defense,” Mack said.
Paly took the lead with 30 seconds left in the third quarter, but not for long. Just off the bench, Max Telkamp buried a 3-pointer 10 ticks later that put Mountain View up 23-21 going into the fourth.
“That was a huge basket for us,” Mack said. “We never lost the lead again.”
Joe Brown finished with 12 points to pace the Spartans, Joey Peir added 10 and Patrick Kane had nine.
Thursday’s win, coupled with Friday’s 42-29 home victory over Santa Clara, boosted the Spartans’ record to 8-2 in league and 16-6 overall.
Only Los Altos has a better league record. The Eagles improved to 8-1 with Friday’s 60-49 win at Cupertino. Andrew Reilly scored a season-high 29 points for Los Altos (17-3 overall) and Jake Skaggs chipped in 16.
St. Francis topped host Sacred Heart Cathedral 66-58 Saturday to get to 5-6 in the West Catholic Athletic League and 13-8 overall.
Girls basketball
It’s been nearly two months since Pinewood has lost a game. The Panthers have won 14 in a row since a 59-54 home loss to St. Ignatius Dec. 11.
“The team is playing well,” said coach Doc Scheppler, whose squad is 8-0 in the West Bay Athletic League and 16-1 overall. “We’re getting better and better and starting to jell a little bit.”
Pinewood picked up four wins last week – and none of the games were close. After blowing out Woodside Priory 80-43 and Crystal Springs Uplands 67-20, the Panthers subdued second-place Menlo 53-34 in another WBAL contest. They capped the week with a 58-43 non-league win versus San Leandro Saturday.
Elle Ladine poured in 106 points over those games, including a career-high 36 Saturday.
“She plays hard, loves the game and is a gem to coach,” Scheppler said of the University of Washington-bound senior.
An overtime win over Riordan Feb. 2 seems to have gotten Los Altos back on track after back-to-back losses. The Eagles followed the 50-48 win with two more, putting them at 14-6 overall.
Coach Erik Stuart said that “lots of people came up big” in the non-league victory over Riordan, which Los Altos beat in OT for the second time this season.
The host Eagles made two 3s in the final minute of regulation, the first coming from Tara Davari and the second from Natalie Holm (team-high 13 points) with just under a second left to force the extra period. Abby Lu made a 3 and two free throws in OT before Macy Watson sank both of her foul shots with five seconds left to put the Eagles up two. Davari’s steal in the final second ensured the win.
Los Altos then won a pair of road games: 37-32 at Lynbrook Friday and 52-38 at Arroyo Saturday. Lu had nine points in the league game at Lynbrook, a win that lifted the Eagles’ record to 4-5 in the De Anza. Watson scored a career-high 17 in the non-league contest at Arroyo.
Girls soccer
Mountain View can’t be caught in the De Anza Division. The Spartans locked up the title with Friday’s 3-0 win at Palo Alto.
Allie Montoya, Karena Shah and Isabella Walker each scored a goal for Mountain View, which improved to 10-0 in league and 16-0-1 overall.
Two days earlier, the host Spartans overcame a one-goal deficit at halftime to beat Homestead 4-2. Montoya scored twice for Mountain View; Shah and Laila Edris contributed a goal each. Walker notched two assists and also had one against Paly.
The Spartans entered this final week of the regular season having won 14 consecutive games.
Los Altos, the winner of six straight De Anza games, has secured second place. The Eagles improved to 6-2-1 in league and 10-4-2 overall with a pair of wins last week: 4-1 over visiting Gunn and 5-0 at Los Gatos.
St. Francis entered this week atop the WCAL standings at 4-0-2, though St. Ignatius (6-1-2) and Mitty (4-1-2) weren’t far behind. The Lancers (11-0-3 overall) last week edged host Presentation 1-0.
Boys soccer
Despite what coach Jim McGuirk called “a rough week” – Mountain View tied Homestead 2-2 and fell to Palo Alto 3-2 – the Spartans remain in second place in the De Anza at 4-2-3. Bryan Kim’s goal off a corner kick in the final seconds allowed Mountain View to tie Homestead Feb. 2.
Wrestling
Mountain View toppled host Los Altos 57-18 Thursday to stay perfect in the SCVAL El Camino Division with one dual meet to go.
Seven of the Spartans’ eight wins came via pin, with Darren Nhieu (126 pounds) and Nate Wilson (145) each accomplishing the feat in 37 seconds.
