A slow start on senior night for the Los Altos boys basketball team proved too much to overcome against the fast-paced Wilcox offense Tuesday.
Wilcox jumped out to a 12-2 lead and finished the first quarter up 23-9, with the Chargers cruising to a 79-60 win in the penultimate regular season game.
“We just have to put this behind us and move on and get a win against Milpitas on Tuesday and then hopefully do well in the playoffs,” Los Altos senior guard Manu Shankar said after the game.
Los Altos was unable to match the Chargers’ execution and good shooting throughout the game. After a slow first quarter in which the Eagles finished with seven turnovers compared to one for Wilcox, Los Altos got back into the game in the second quarter by executing its offense and breaking Wilcox’s press, with the Eagles cutting the lead to 33-24 at one point and only being down 12 at the half. However, the Chargers extended the lead to 48-31 at the beginning of the second half and 68-47 by the end of the third, leaving little hope for the Eagles.
“It was kind of a back-and-forth thing at that point, and we totally had a chance at that point to get back into it,” Los Altos head coach James Reilly said of the second quarter. “We needed to finish the half out a little bit better. We started very slow in the third quarter.”
Wilcox got strong shooting performances from Miles Bonilla and Semaj Clark. Bonilla finished with 26 and hit seven 3-pointers, while point guard Semaj Clark had 25 points. Wilcox made 47% of its 3-pointers, while Los Altos only made 27%.
“He’s a great shooter, right, so if he gets an open shot, he is going to make that,” Shankar said of Bonilla. “Same thing with number two [Clark], he’s just great getting to the rim and great at driving,” Shankar said.
The Wilcox press and fast tempo on transitions proved difficult for Los Altos, with the Eagles making a lot of errors it shouldn’t have. Wilcox had 13 transition points compared to four for Los Altos and 24 points off turnovers to just four for the Eagles. Los Altos had 13 turnovers, compared to just seven for Wilcox.
“It was pretty challenging to deal with it,” Shankar said.
Los Altos center Omer Sukur finished with 11 points in just 13 minutes, tied with Christian Saric for the team lead. Sukur is eligible to play after missing the early part of the season. Reilly noted he could help against bigger opponents and did well against Wilcox, considering how quickly the Chargers wanted to run and create space on the offensive end.
“He rebounds really well, his size helps defensively,” Reilly said. “So when we play Milpitas, it will be easier.”
The loss moves Los Altos (13-10) to 5-6 in league play, while Wilcox (9-13) moves to 3-7. With only one game remaining Tuesday in the SCVAL De Anza division against Milpitas, one eye is also on the playoffs and seeding. While Los Altos has suffered several losses in the past few weeks, it also has good wins against Los Gatos, Mountain View and Milpitas that will give it confidence going into the playoffs.
“I think we are at the cusp, at the verge of making a good run in the playoffs,” Shankar said. “We just have to put all of that into practice. Stay focused in practice, stay focused in the game, and eventually, it will turn into success in the playoffs.”
