The Campbell Reporter

Cover Story

Journey Ends

Westmont's ride through the season ended in the CCS semifinals

By Dick Sparrer

Not many teams have beaten the Archbishop Mitty boys in basketball this season. In fact, there's been only one--Riordan. And the Crusaders, the Central Coast Section Division III champions this winter, could top the Monarchs by only a point back on Jan. 18.

So when Westmont went up against powerful Mitty in the CCS Division II semifinals on Feb. 26, it was a truly a David and Goliath story.

Unlike David, though, the Warriors didn't have the firepower to slay the mighty Monarchs, and the season came to an abrupt end for Westmont.

But what a season it was for coach Bill Gerth's Warriors, who won 18 games on a sweet trip to the section semi's.

Westmont opened the year with seven wins in its first nine games to reach the finals in three straight tournaments--the Westmont Invitational, Wilcox Dad's Club Tournament and the Fremont-Sunnyvale Invitational. The Warriors then won the consolation title at the Pioneer Holiday Classic and headed into the rugged Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League with a 10-4 record.

Westmont finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Mt. Hamilton Division with Pioneer and Santa Teresa, all three clubs at 6-8, and entered the CCS Division II playoffs as the No. 5 seed.

The Warriors edged Wilcox 65-64 in their first playoff game, then upset No. 4 seeded Gunn 53-47 to set up a game with No. 1-seed Mitty.

The Monarchs, who made short work of Mills (70-43) in the quarterfinals, dominated Westmont 71-36. Still, the Warriors have no reason to hang their heads--Mitty went on to crush No. 3 seed Menlo-Atherton in the title game 71-46.

Max Schneider led the Westmont effort in the loss to Mitty. The 5-foot-10 senior guard pitched in 10 points, grabbed four rebounds, handed out three assists and snagged two steals.

Greg Talley supported with eight points and four boards. James Weimer and Shan Aggarwal chipped in with seven points apiece, and Patrick Barton and Mark Vidunas had two each. Barton also had four rebounds and Weimer and Jon Wahl had three each.

The good news for the Warriors is that Weimer, Talley, Aggarwal and Wahl are all juniors who will join sophomores Ben Neves and Brian Scott and junior Naod Ephraim as returners for Westmont next winter.

The Warriors, however, will lose Schneider, along with Barton and Ryan Takaki, to graduation, their senior seasons coming to an end on a Tuesday evening at Foothill College against a Mitty team that will no doubt be remembered as one of the best in CCS history.

And while they may not have been making history, the Warriors were enjoying a great deal of success in their own right in a year that took them on a sweet trip to the CCS semi's.