Los Gatos junior Cristen McClenathan, driving through a pair of Cupertino defenders, tossed in 11 points to help the Wildcats to a 55-40 win over the Pioneers.




Photograph by Kathy De La Torre







Knight, Gingery lead Wildcats

Leigh boys win two, while the Los Gatos and Leigh girls split

By Dick Sparrer

Beau Knight and Matt Gingery did last week exactly what Los Gatos basketball coach Jim Marino had expected them to do all season for the Wildcats--dominate basketball games.

Knight and Gingery tossed in 32 points apiece in two games last week to lead Los Gatos to lopsided wins over both Wilcox and Santa Clara in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Marino had expected as much of the two when the season began last November. What the veteran Gatos basketball coach hadn't expected, though, was that Gingery would suffer an ankle sprain that would sideline him for more than a month to start the season.

But Gingery is back at full strength now, and the one-two scoring tandem that he creates along with Knight is too much for opposing teams to stop.

Or, at least it was too much for either Wilcox or Santa Clara to stop last week.

Gingery pitched in 17 points and Knight went for 15 in a rousing 61-29 win over Wilcox to open the week. And the two traded places a couple of days later when Knight fired in 17 and Gingery added 15 in a 58-43 win over the Bruins.

The two wins helped Los Gatos improve to 3-0 in the division and to 7-10 for the year.

Things get a little tougher for the Wildcats this week, though. The Cats host Milpitas on Jan. 19, 7 p.m., on the Gatos floor and visit Palo Alto on Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m.

Milpitas and Paly are each off to a solid start in the De Anza Division season.

The Trojans, 10-3 for the year, are 4-0 in the division and Paly is 2-1, 8-8 overall.

Gingery led the Wildcats to the easy win over Wilcox to open play last week. The 6-foot-6 senior forward poured in 17 points, including a three-pointer. Knight, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, tossed in 15 points. He, too, hit a three.

Knight led the Cats with six rebounds, and Gingery pulled down four. They each dished off two assists.

"Both those guys are back for their senior years," said Marino, "and they're both leading us in their own way."

Junior guard Ben Kane chipped in with eight points and added three assists. Junior center Matt Swanson had six points, Chris McMorrow added five, Trent Edwards and Nick Vizzusi had three each, and Dan Brenner and David Conkle hit two apiece. Edwards drilled a three-pointer.

Los Gatos outscored Wilcox in every period, opening a 13-5 lead in the first period and pushed that lead to 18 points by intermission, 31-13.

"We started strong and sustained it," said Los Gatos coach Jim Marino. "We really put it together."

Knight bombed three three-pointers and finished with a team-high 17 points in the 58-43 win over Santa Clara on Thursday night. Gingery pitched in 15 points, including nine points at the free-throw line.

"They were the most physical team we've played so far," said Marino of Santa Clara.

Swanson supported with nine points for the winners. Alex Holcomb had five, Edwards four, McMorrow and Kane three apiece and Brandon Fong and Ross Halper one each.

Gingery and Swanson led the Cats with 11 rebounds apiece, and Knight pulled down seven. Edwards topped the club with four assists, Kane had three, and Knight added two.

Split for Cats

Nancy Shishido, Julia Pugliese and Cristen McClenathan each finished in double figures to lead the Los Gatos girls to a 55-40 win over Cupertino to open play in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL last week.

But the Wildcats lost a tough 46-42 nod to Wilcox to close out the week.

The Wildcats, 3-1 in the division and 12-5 for the year, were led by Shishido in the win over the Pioneers. The senior guard poured in 13 points to lead all Gatos scorers. Pugliese and McClenathan supported with 11 points apiece for the Cats. Kristin Ozawa chipped in with nine points, and she and Shishido each hit three-pointers.

Michelle Beritzhoff tossed in seven points in the win, Stephanie Anderson added four, and Rachelle Townsend and Katrina Sortino hit two each.

The Wildcats jumped out to a commanding 20-5 lead in the first period and coasted from there to the 15-point win over the Pioneers.

Gatos fought from behind, but the Cats couldn't pull out a win over unbeaten Wilcox later in the week.

Beritzhoff led the Cats with 14 points and Shishido and Pugliese netted 10 apiece in the loss to the Chargers. Shishido and Pugliese each canned a three.

Ozawa hit four points in the game and McClenathan and Anderson had two each.

Leigh girls split

Kimberly Schlief pumped in 41 points in two games, but the Leigh girls basketball team could manage just a split in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League last week.

Schlief buried 14 points, but the Longhorns lost a 43-34 decision to Leland to open the week.

Schlief came back with 27 points to drive the 'Horns to a 46-34 win over Piedmont Hills to close out the week.

Leigh is now 1-3 in division play and 9-7 for the year.

Leigh wins two

The Leigh boys won twice last week in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL, beating Mt. Pleasant 57-40 before whipping Gunderson 68-58. The Longhorns are now 3-0 in division play and 12-5 for the year.

Antwon Guidry and Keith Miyakusu each had a big week for the Longhorns. Guidry tossed in 34 points in the two games, and Miyakusu supported with 30 points.

Miyakusu led the 'Horns with 18 points and Guidry hit 15 in the win over Mt. Pleasant to open the week. Each of the two drilled a three-pointer in the win.

Josh Kreuzer and Mark Perry supported with six points apiece, and Byron Taplin had five. Darren Fujikawa hit a three-pointer for the winners.

Leigh outscored the Cardinals in every period, and opened up a 27-18 lead by intermission.

The Longhorns battled back from a 15-12 first quarter deficit to defeat Gunderson by 10 later in the week. The clubs were locked in a 39-39 tie after three periods before Leigh unloaded on the Grizzlies 29-19 in the final quarter.

Guidry bombed three three-pointers on his way to 19 points in the win, and Fujikawa pitched in four threes on the road to an 18-point night.

Miyakusu finished with 12 points, including six at the free-throw line. Perry supported with seven points, Marcus Anderson hit five, and Taplin added four.

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