Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Sports

Cats claim big win over Royals, but then fall to Menlo-Atherton

By Dick Sparrer

There were high hopes on the hardwood when the Los Gatos boys basketball team opened the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs at home with a 59-55 win over Overfelt last Thursday night.

Those hoop hopes were dashed, however, when the Wildcats lost 71-34 to No. 3 seed Menlo-Atherton in the quarterfinals on Saturday evening at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills.

The Wildcats were outscored in every period by the Bears, who were led by 6-foot-3 junior forward Sam Knapp. Knapp pitched in a game-high 25 points and ripped down 19 rebounds to help bring an end to the Los Gatos season.

But what a season it was for the Wildcats. The Cats got off to a fast start with a second-place finish in the Los Gatos Lions Club Wildcat Shootout, and after losing to Pioneer in the tourney finale, put together a five-game winning streak.

Los Gatos, 19-9 overall this season, finished third in the rugged De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League with a 7-5 record, trailing only Cupertino (10-2) and Gunn (8-4).

The Cats entered the CCS Division II tourney as the No. 6 seed, good for a first-round bye. No. 11 Overfelt (15-12) edged No. 14 El Camino (10-18) to earn a second-round date with Cats on the Gatos floor on Feb. 21.

It was a game that didn't start well for either team.

Neither club could score for nearly 4 1/2 minutes before Overfelt finally broke the scoring drought with a bucket with 3:37 left in the first period. Evan Vandenberg answered with the first Los Gatos score 15 seconds later, and the two clubs were on their way.

"It was our first CCS game, and we had a case of the jitters," said Los Gatos coach Sean Cummings after the game. "But in the second half we played a lot better, especially in the third quarter."

Overfelt held a slim 20-18 lead at intermission, but Los Gatos unloaded for 23 points in the third while holding the Royals to just 13.

"We were a little rusty," added Cummings, "but it was good to see our team take a deep breath and come back like that."

Vandenberg led the third-place assault with nine points for the Cats, including a pair of three-pointers.

"He had a great third quarter," said Cummings of Vandenberg.

Vandenberg ended the night as the scoring leader for the Wildcats with 16 points, but it was Garrett Blackwell who had the big game for Los Gatos. The 6-foot-5 senior tossed in 15 points and hit the boards for an impressive 25 rebounds in the win.

"He broke our season record for rebounds tonight," said Cummings. "He only needed five and he got a lot more than that. He may have even broke our single game rebound record."

He did. Blackwell, whose 321 rebounds this year broke the Los Gatos season record of 301, also set the new single-game mark with his 25 boards. Both records have stood since 1977.

Five times Blackwell turned rebounds into points, hitting the offensive boards and then tossed in put-back buckets for the Cats.

"He's a stud," said Cummings.

The two clubs battled back-and-forth for a period before Gatos jumped to a four-point lead on a Blackwell rebound and score with 5:21 left in the half. But only the play senior guard Greg Walters went down with an ankle injury and had to leave the game. Overfelt went on a seven-point run to take a 14-11 lead.

"He's a guy who means a lot for us," said Cummings of Walters.

The Royals were up 16-13 with under three minutes left in the half when Michael Hodgman stepped up with a big play. The 6-foot sophomore grabbed an offensive rebound and tossed up twisting shot off the glass for a key bucket that brought the Cats to within one.

Overfelt scored again, but Vandenberg took a pass from Hodgman to bury a three with 1:37 left in the half to tie the game 18-18.

The Royals scored again with 37.8 left in the second period, then opened the third with two buckets to take their biggest lead of the night, 24-18. After that, Los Gatos really started to click.

Blackwell scored after snagging an offensive rebound, then grabbed a board at the defensive end. Moments later Walters, back in action for the second half, drove the floor, kicked out a pass to Vandenberg in the corner and took a pass from Vandenberg for a lay-up, cutting the lead to 24-22 with 5:43 left in the third.

The Cats took the lead when Vandenberg buried a three from the corner off a Peter Heng assist to make it 25-24 with 5:16 left in the quarter.

Los Gatos continued the assault--a Blackwell put-back of an offensive rebounds, a reverse lay-up by Walters off a Vandenberg assist and a three-pointer by Hodgman--to complete a 14-point run that took the Cats from the four-point deficit to a eight-point lead.

Overfelt scored but Vandenberg came back with a three off a Chris Nielsen assist and the Cats had their biggest lead of the night at nine points, 35-26 with 3:33 to play in the third.

The Royals fought back to tie it 44-44 with 5:14 left in the game, but a Blackwell bucket and a three by Heng off a Blackwell assist put the Cats back up by five.

Overfelt would trim it back to three, but the Cats hit 7 of 10 free throws down the stretch to clinch the win. Heng, who finished with 11 points, hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final period and Walters, who had eight points, popped 4 of 6. Hodgman ended up with nine points in the win.

Blackwell was dominant on the boards with his game-high 24 and he led the club with three assists. Walters had six rebounds and two assists, Vandenberg five boards and two assists. Hodgman added four rebounds, Nate Aguiar two and Nielsen and Heng one each. Jeff Spagnola topped the Cats with two steals.