And because of it, Warren sparked the Pioneers take over sole ownership of first place in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League with a 48-37 victory over rival Saratoga.

The clubs entered the game with nearly matching unblemished records in the early stages of league play. The Pioneers were just a notch up with a 4-0 mark while the Falcons came in at 3-0.

But a hot Warren helped 'Tino top 'Toga in every quarter but the fourth on the road to an 11-point victory.

Warren, a 6-foot-4 senior, pitching in eight buckets from the floor and added six points at the free-throw line to lead the Pioneers to the key early season victory.

Ehson Mortezaie, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, supported with eight points, 6-foot-4 senior Jeremy Brinkerhoff added seven, 6-foot-2 senior Matt McCormick hit six and 6-foot-3 sophomore Eric Heslin had five.

Cupertino did much of its damage from the charity stripe, drilling 12 free throws in the 11-point win. The Falcons could answer with just three free throws, all of them by 5-foot-5 senior guard Ryan Matsuura.

No Saratoga player finished in double digits in the game. Kia Agahel, a 6-foot-2 senior, drained three three-pointers to finish with a team-high nine points and 6-foot-3 senior Scott Newberry jammed four shots from the field to finish with eight points. Matsuura had a couple of field goals to go with his three charity throws to wind up with seven.

Bo Nielsen chipped in with six points for the Falcons, Nick Valluri had four and Keon Ghafouri popped a three-pointer.

The Pioneers opened up a quick first-quarter lead, 9-5, and stretched that to six points by the half, 20-14. Cupertino outscored Saratoga 14-9 in the third to go up by 11, and that proved the margin of victory for the Pioneers when they matched the Falcons' 14 points in the fourth.

With the win, Cupertino improved to 5-0 in the division and to 18-2 for the year. The Pioneers, who were to face Wilcox (1-3, 6-10) on Friday night, play just one game this week when they host Los Altos (1-2, 4-11) on Jan. 27, 7:45 p.m. They topped the Eagles 50-33 on the first trip through the El Camino schedule.

The Falcons slipped to 3-1 in league play and to 10-7 for the year with the loss. Saratoga was to meet Lynbrook (0-3, 2-10) on Friday and will hit the court for two games this week--visiting Los Altos on Jan. 25, 7 p.m., before hosting Monta Vista (1-2, 6-10) on Jan. 27, 8 p.m. The Falcons topped the Matadors 48-34 the first time the two clubs met.

In girls action last Wednesday night, Saratoga rolled up its first win of the El Camino Division season with a 37-23 victory over Cupertino.

Saratoga jumped out to a commanding 23-2 lead by the half, outscoring the Pioneers 16-2 in the first quarter, then blanking them 7-0 in the second. Cupertino topped Saratoga 11-8 in the third and 10-6 in the fourth, but the halftime deficit was too much for the Pioneers to overcome.

Alex Sclavos, a 5-foot-7 freshman wing, was the big scorer for the Falcons with 13 points, including a three-pointer and six points at the line.

Mika Lewis and Paige popped a couple of threes apiece to finish with six points each for the Falcons. Katie Low and Katie Reed both had three points and Lisa Ruddy, Vanessa Guzman and Sonali Sheel had two each.

Sophomore Victoria Wu led the Pioneers with 13 points. She had a three-pointer among her five field goals and added two points at the free-throw line.

Tiffany Wang had three points, Robin Lai, Courtney Caldwell and Lindsay Matsushita hit two each and Karin Tanaka added one.

Saratoga improved to 1-3 in the division with the win and will host Monta Vista on Jan. 27, 6:15 p.m., and visit Fremont on Jan. 31, 7 p.m.

Winless Cupertino, 0-4 in the division, hosts Los Altos on Jan. 27, 6:15 p.m., and heads to Lynbrook on Jan. 31, 7 p.m.