Special to the Town Crier
Prep Boys Hoop Scoop
The start of a new year brings a fresh beginning for high school basketball teams. And a quick start in league play can enhance confidence and give a team a jump on the competition.
The start of league play last week brought mixed results for the local area boys teams in hopes of a league crown.
St. Francis (13-1 overall) split its first pair of West Catholic Athletic League contests, losing to rival Bellarmine 66-49 Jan. 6, then whipping Sacred Heart Cathedral 67-58 last Saturday in San Francisco.
The Lancers rebounded Saturday with a strong start, outscoring the Irish 38-24 in the first half. Senior Adam Buck and sophomore Jermel Gilliard paced St. Francis with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Mountain View (1-0, 10-5) won its SCVAL El Camino Division opener, outlasting Homestead 36-29 last Thursday, as Seth Greenstein and Nic Lustig led the Spartans with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Mountain View led 28-27 after three quarters, then outscored the Mustangs 8-2 in a low scoring fourth quarter. Steve Lambert led Homestead with nine points.
Homestead dropped another game last Thursday, a 49-48 nail-bitter to visiting Monta Vista. Lambert paced the Mustangs (4-11 overall) with 11 points.
Los Altos (0-2, 6-9) dropped its first two SCVAL De Anza Division games last week. The Eagles lost to Santa Clara 49-47 Jan. 5 and then fell to Milpitas 65-36 last Friday.
Against visiting Milpitas, the Eagles played close in the first half, only to be out-gunned 38-14 in the second half. Senior Fritz Lanman led the Eagles with 11 points.
Gunn forged ahead of the El Camino pack with a 2-0 league mark. The Titans (9-3) drilled Saratoga 53-44 last Friday behind a balanced scoring attack.
Senior Jamar Barnett and junior Steve Baker each poured in 14 points and senior Tom Sikic added 10 points as Gunn iced the game with a 15-9 fourth-quarter run.