Paced by sharp-shooting senior Mark McLaughlin, the Mustangs have been perfect, winning the season opener by 30 points, then romping to championships at the Cupertino Shootout and Wilcox's DGM Tournament.

In the championship game of the Wilcox tourney on Dec. 12, the Mustangs dumped Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division rival Milpitas, 52-45. They took a 7-0 record into a game at Santa Teresa on Dec. 14. Their home opener is Dec. 17 against Andrew Hill.

McLaughlin, whose junior season ended prematurely with ankle surgery, has not lost his shooting touch. The 6-foot-3 wing player already has scored more than 20 points on four occasions for the Mustangs, whose win over defending league co-champion Milpitas serves notice that they will be in the hunt when league play begins.

McLaughlin and junior point guard Davis Ostrow earned all-tournament team honors during the Wilcox tourney, Dec. 9­11. McLaughlin, known for his ability to finish slashing drives toward the basket, netted 16 in the title game, one night after pumping in 22 during a 58-47 win over Oak Grove in the semifinals.

Ostrow tallied 14 against Oak Grove, 10 on foul shots. Senior guard Min Park and 6-foot-5 senior Alex Mrozack each scored eight for Homestead.

Another 6-foot-5 post player, junior William Tsai (14 points), Mrozack (12) and McLaughlin (10) scored in double digits during an easy 77-38 victory over Mt. Pleasant in the first round. Park added nine, while Cameron Ott and Ryan Dedrick chipped in with eight.

It was the second time Homestead whipped the Cardinals this season. Earlier, McLaughlin's 28 points and Dedrick's 12 paced a 69-39 win in the season opener at Mt. Pleasant.

McLaughlin and Tsai helped Homestead polish off Santa Clara 72-47 in the finals of the Cupertino Shootout. After holding just a three-point lead at halftime, the Mustangs outscored Santa Clara 36-14 during the last two quarters. McLaughlin finished with 26 points, 11 from the foul line.

Tsai, whose game-high 18 points were critical in Homestead's 54-52 semi-finals win over host Cupertino, canned 15 against Santa Clara. Senior Min Park scored 12 for the Mustangs, including two three-pointers and four free throws.

Homestead whipped Silver Creek 60-42 in the first round behind McLaughlin's 26 points and junior David Ostrow's 14.

The semi-final game against Cupertino proved to be quite a challenge. The Pioneers led 32-27 at halftime, but Homestead outscored the hosts 14-5 in the third quarter to gain the lead. In addition to Tsai's 18-point effort, Homestead used 11 points from McLaughlin and nine each from Park and Mrozack.

Junior point guard Ehson Mortezaie paced Cupertino with 17 points. Big senior center Alonzo Fitz (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Junior David Warren, a 6-foot-4 junior, added nine points.

Cupertino 3rd at Lynbrook

The Pioneers, who recently improved their record to 4-3 with a pair of wins in the Lynbrook Tournament, finished fourth in its own event. After the two-point loss to Homestead in the semi-finals, they dropped another two-point decision to Gunn. Fitz put together a solid inside game with team highs of 10 points and seven rebounds.

John Hiley, a 6-foot-3 senior, was the Pioneers' scoring leader in the first round of the Shootout. Hiley's 16 points paced a 55-26 triumph over Mills of Millbrae. Senior guard Gordon Peng had 11 points and Mortezaie had a team-high five assists.

At the Lynbrook event, the Pioneers finished in third place, sandwiching wins over Prospect (50-36) and Gunderson (80-53) around a semi-final loss to an excellent Pinole Valley team.

Hiley, a first-team all-El Camino Division performer last season, scored 20 points against Gunderson. Forward Greg Thacker, a 6-2 senior, contributed 15 points and three blocked shots. Fitz had 11 points and seven rebounds, while Peng added 10 points and three assists. Mortezaie had a solid floor game, dishing three assists and making three steals without committing a turnover.

Cupertino led the Grizzlies 47-31 at halftime, then put the game out of reach with a 21-2 blitz in the third quarter. The Pioneers converted 21 of 27 free throws in the game, most of the work from the front line. Hiley was 6-for-6, Fitz 5-for-7 and Thacker 5-for-8.

Hiley and Warren both scored 13 and Fitz had 10 against Prospect.

With the likes of Hiley, Fitz, Thacker and Mortezaie returning from last year's 14-13 club, Cupertino coach Craig Ellegood has what it takes to contend for the SCVAL El Camino title this season.

"We feel we can be competitive for our league title," says Ellegood, whose team goes on the road this week for games at Mountain View (Dec. 14) and Carlmont of Belmont (Dec. 15), before joining 15 other teams at the Fremont Holiday Tournament Dec. 18­22.

Cupertino will close out non-league action with home games against Willow Glen (Dec. 28) and Prospect (Dec. 30), before El Camino play commences in January. Other El Camino teams are Saratoga, Lynbrook, Monta Vista, Los Altos, Wilcox and Santa Clara.

Matadors win first

Monta Vista picked up its first win of the season at the Wilcox tourney last week. The Matadors topped the host team, 55-44, in a second-round game, behind the scoring of seniors Garrett Peters and Kevin Baugh. Peters, a 6-foot-4 center who was the team's Most Valuable Player last season, and Baugh, a 6-foot forward, both scored 14 points in the victory. Sophomore Phil Kou added eight points, while senior Jeff Clewett and junior Jeff Mo added six apiece.

Clewett, a 6-foot guard in his third varsity season, and Peters head a cast of five returning lettermen in the starting line-up. Baugh, 6-foot senior Jeff Peng and 5-foot-9 sophomore Marcus Woo have been the other starters thus far this season. Senior center Phil Segal (6-foot-1) and sophomore forward David Byun (6-foot-2) also return to coach Allan Schnoor's squad.

Mo, the El Camino Division's frosh-soph MVP a year ago, is one of seven new players who Schnoor hopes will help his squad improve upon last season's 1-11 league record. Other newcomers are senior guards Pratik Mohapatra and John Kang, 6-foot-3 junior center Keenan Turner, junior Albert Ju and sophomores Kou and Brett Colloton.

Teng leads Lynbrook

Senior guard Justin Teng sparked Lynbrook's 49-40 victory over Lincoln in the first round of the Vikings' tournament. Teng, who earlier this season popped five three-pointers while scoring 22 points against Pioneer, scored 20 against the Lions.

Lynbrook finished fourth in its tournament, falling 45-39 to Prospect in the third-place game. Junior forward Steve Kemp (13 points) was the Vikings' top scorer. Teng had 11.