THE BOYS
Milpitas reigns again
Maybe Milpitas should have been in the Open Division, or maybe not.
Let the debate continue.
But this much can’t be denied: The Trojans are as tough a team to beat, or keep up with, as eighth-seeded Sequoia found out in the quarterfinals of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs Tuesday night.
Top-seeded Milpitas, playing on its home court, scored 11 points at halftime, extended its lead to 17 through three quarters and won 73-40.
The Trojans (24-1) advanced to play fourth-seeded Palo Alto in Thursday’s semifinals. Sequoia finished 12-14.
Pranavram Krishnan scored 21 points, Dylan Nguyen added 19 and Ziad Elkordy finished with 18 points to lead Milpitas. The Trojans also got 12 points from Jelani North.
Milpitas extended its winning streak to 15 since its only loss, 75-61 at Archie Williams on Dec. 23.
– Darren Sabedra
Los Gatos resists Mountain View’s comeback
Los Gatos, No. 2 in the Division I boys bracket, opened up a 20-point lead early in the fourth quarter but found itself having to fight off a strong Mountain View rally that ended up defeating Los Gatos 57-52.
“We felt we were on the verge of putting them away,” said Los Gatos coach Nick Ward. “Then they found another gear and cut it down to four. Beating a league opponent three times a season and twice a week is tough.”
Roshan Ramachandran was the engine for Mountain View’s comeback, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter. Noah Shahraz also had 15 and Diego Inocencio chased down 16 for the Spartans.
Zach Otoupal scored 15 for Los Gatos. Will Campbell had 13 and Dionysis Maroudas 12.
Mountain View (11-15) made 8 3-pointers and was 6 of 12 from the foul line. Los Gatos had four 3s but outscored Mountain View by nine points at the free throw line, making 15 of 20 foul shots.
Los Gatos took a 27-22 lead into halftime before opening it up by outscoring the visitors 18-7 in the third quarter.
Los Gatos (20-5) will host Carlmont in the semifinals on Thursday.
– Glenn Reeves
Paly moves on, a bigger challenge awaits
Palo Alto opened up a 13-point lead heading into the fourth quarter after outscoring Evergreen Valley 20-12 in the third quarter, then went on to win 62-50.
“In the third quarter they started connecting from deep and their guard, Rocco Smith, found a way to the basket,” Evergreen Valley coach Arjun Ashokkumar said. “We reached six in the fourth quarter but we failed to win one game,”
Smith leads all scorers with 23 points. Ben Laris added 10 points for Palo Alto. Ananth Kothapalli scored 21 and Jakub Narkiewicz scored 15 for Evergreen.
No. 4 seed Palo Alto (16-9) will play at top-seeded Milpitas on Thursday, a team the Vikings lost to twice during SCVAL De Anza Division play.
Willow Glen heats up in the second half
Whatever was said in the Willow Glen locker room at halftime, the Rams should consider taking it to heart going forward.
Tied 25-25 after the Division II quarterfinals at home against eighth-seeded Gunn, Willow Glen scored 23 points in the third quarter for a 67-52 victory.
The top-ranked Rams will return to their home court Thursday to play fifth-ranked Burlingame, which knocked off fellow Willow Glen teammate Westmont, 61-52, on Tuesday.
Willow Glen had four players score in double figures, with Caiden Morefield’s 19 leading the way.
Brayden Gumabo added 15 points and Wyatt Ahlbrand and Josh Kaminski each finished with 10 as the Rams improved to 22-2 under first-year head coach Patrick Judge, a veteran of the CCS playoffs, having coached Leigh, Saratoga and Santa Teresa.
Gunn finished 17-10.
– Darren Sabedra
GIRLS
Section I
Tava’s long-range shooting improves MA
Luisa Tava scored 27 points on nine 3-pointers as No. MA coach Steve Yob said he’s not sure if the nine 3s is a school record, but he’s definitely seen them in his seven years as a coach.
MA led 31-22 at halftime and extended the lead to 14 at 53-39 after three quarters. Ape Ulukivaiola scored 13 and freshman Bella Gormsen added 11. Gracie Bullard was outstanding on defense.
Natalie Perkins led Cupertino (18-8) with 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Jessica Shaffer scored 15.
The Bears, after losing to Los Gatos in the Division I finals last year, are determined to try and win their first CCS title since 2020.
– Glenn Reeves
Los Gatos struggled in the second half
Los Gatos’ 41-game SCVAL De Anza Division winning streak ended with a season-opening loss to Fremont. The motivation was there on Tuesday as the Wildcats rallied from a 16-16 halftime deficit for a 44-37 victory.
“Our defense was really good today,” Los Gatos coach Sara Quilici-Giles said. “We tried to limit their post player (Ada Johnson) and make them shoot from the outside.”
Fremont went on a 5-0 run in the second quarter and went on a 6-0 run in the third.
Rita Zhou scored 12 points for No. 2 seed Los Gatos (19-6) and Jenna Webb had 10. Lola Cuevas and Hanna Behnami got 9 each. Vivian Lee paced Fremont (13-13) with 14. Johnson scored 9.
“We’re finding our rhythm, stepping up at the right time,” Quilici-Giles said. “Our elders had fire in their eyes tonight.”
– Glenn Reeves
Homestead goes up in flames
Fueled by several steals that led to points in transition and five 3-pointers, No. 3 Homestead scored 43 points in the first half and opened up a 23-point lead at halftime. After Carlmont took the lead in the third quarter, the Mustangs rallied and pulled away for a 68-51 victory.
Katie Tal led Homestead (21-4) with 24 points. Leona Kovaci scored 19 points and Hope Yin chipped in with 10.
London Greene scored 13 for Carlmont (14-12). Tia Helmy scored 10.
Homestead, the SCVAL El Camino Division champion, will play at Los Gatos on Thursday.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Homestead coach Megan Fong said. “We played a lot of teams in De Anza and top teams in San Jose at the beginning of the season, but it’s been a while.
– Glenn Reeves
“Let’s go out swinging”
Los Altos jumped out to a 20-12 lead after one quarter and went up 32-20 at halftime en route to a 56-37 victory over Salinas.
“We really tried to push,” Los Altos coach Brittany Taylor said. “We scored more points in transition after getting stops.”
Ella McFarlane led the Eagles with 21 points. Two freshmen, guard Taylor Ware and 6-footer Isha Peruri scored 12 points apiece.
Alice Uchida scored 11 and Erin Uchida scored 9 for Salinas.
No. 4 Los Altos (20-4) will travel to play at No. 1 Menlo-Atherton on Thursday.
“I think we fit in well with them,” Taylor said. “I like our momentum going into this game.”
– Glenn Reeves
