The Los Altos High boys basketball team upset top-seeded Leland 63-59 in overtime Saturday to capture the Central Coast Section Division II championship. More details will follow in the Town Crier’s March 11 edition.
After getting as far as the CCS Division II semifinals the past two seasons, the sixth-seeded Eagles reached the final by beating Santa Clara 59-47 Tuesday night (March 3).
“Leland is just a fantastic team,” Eagles coach Bob McFarlane said prior to the final. “I’d say they are the best public school team I’ve seen play. … They’re a handful.”
But Los Altos (14-14) no longer looks like the inexperienced team (one returning starter) that faced the Chargers the first month of the season. The Eagles won four consecutive games – their longest streak of success this season – in the semis.
After rallying from a 15-2 deficit to upset No. 3 Willow Glen in the quarterfinals, Los Altos never trailed against seventh-seeded Santa Clara (15-12), which hosted Tuesday’s contest.
The Eagles scored the first seven points – beginning with Thomas Kelleher’s driving bank shot – and led 33-18 by halftime.
“Before the game we talked about coming out strong and starting really fast,” said senior Daniel Rosenbaum, who scored a team-high 14 points. “We were hitting our shots at the beginning and making some nice drives.”
The Eagles got off to a fast start in the second half as well, making their first two shots. Rosenbaum completed a three-point play after getting fouled on a burst to the basket and – with help from a Bruins’ turnover – lobbed an inbound pass to Patrick McColl for a layin that pushed the lead to 38-18.
Santa Clara trimmed its deficit to 14 points by quarter’s end but would get no closer. Los Altos opened the fourth with a 14-6 run featuring seven points from Rosenbaum. The Eagles nailed five of their six shots during the spurt – highlighted by freshman Nolan Brennan’s 3-pointer – and extended the advantage to 59-37 with 3:53 left.
Brennan joined Rosenbaum in double figures, finishing with 12 points. Senior Kyle Cumagun added nine points on a trio of 3-pointers. Nine Los Altos players scored in the contest.
