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Published on 02/16/1998 All articles from this issue

Four local teams gear up for playoffs

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By Craig Wentz

Special to the Town Crier

Boys hoop scoop

ith the boys high school basketball regular season over, it's now time for a few local teams to move onto the playoffs.

The boys of St. Francis, Mountain View, Pinewood and Gunn have qualified for the Central Coast Section playoffs, which start this week.

St. Francis, which placed third in the West Catholic Athletic League, earned a No. 2 seed in the Division II playoffs and will host either Wilcox or Soquel on Saturday night.

The Lancers (20-7) won their WCAL Tournament opener Feb. 18, a 66-50 decision over visiting Riordan. Senque Carey scored 20 points for St. Francis. But the Lancers lost in the semifinals last Friday, falling 68-63 to host St. Ignatius. Adam Buck led St. Francis with 22 points.

Mountain View (13-12) captured the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division title last Friday with a 49-37 home win over Fremont.

The Spartans jumped out to a 25-17 halftime lead and never looked back. Seth Greenstein led Mountain View with 15 points.

The Spartans notched a No. 12 seed in the Division II playoffs and hosted Aragon last night. With a win, they play at No. 5 Willow Glen on Thursday.

Gunn (15-9) grabbed the No. 15 seed in Division III and play No. 18 Burlingame Tuesday night. With a victory, the Titans are at crosstown rival Palo Alto on Thursday. Gunn upset Palo Alto, winners of the SCVAL De Anza Division, earlier in the year.

The Titans ended the regular season by trouncing visiting Cupertino 66-56 last Friday. Jamar Barnett scored 17 points to lead Gunn.

Pinewood (12-13) earned the third seed in Division V and will host Liberty Baptist on Saturday night in Los Altos Hills.

Last Friday the Panthers lost to Private Schools Athletic League co- champion Menlo 69-59. After trailing 33-24 at the half, Pinewood used a 12-2 spurt to take a 36-35 lead early in the third quarter. But Menlo countered with a 16-5 run close the period, en route to the win.

Pinewood senior John Neil, who averages 24 points per game, was held to only 14.

Two local teams that won't be going to the postseason, Los Altos and Homestead, ended their seasons last week.

Los Altos finished up with a 73-53 home loss to league champ Palo Alto Feb. 18. Pete Bjorklund paced the Eagles with 12 points and Eian Burton added 11. Los Altos finishes 2-10 in the SCVAL De Anza Division and 5-19 overall.

Gunn put an end to Homestead's season with a 63-53 win Feb. 18 in Cupertino. Jamar Barnett poured in 23 points for the Titans and Johnnie Gray chipped in 19.

Homestead was led by Dat Lai (20 points) and Brian Holm (10). Pat Cabell of Los Altos had six points. The Mustangs wind up 5-7 in the SCVAL El Camino Division and 7-18 overall.