The Cupertino Courier

Sports

Pioneers, Mats boast basketball win streaks

By Mike Barnhart

Boys basketball teams at Cupertino and Monta Vista continued to give their fans something to shout about last week, both extending their winning streaks to six and hanging onto first place in their respective divisions.

Cupertino had a busy week, knocking off Saratoga and Gunn and claiming sole possession of first place in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic league, a half game ahead of Palo Alto with just three games left.

Meanwhile, Monta Vista (7-1, 14-9 overall) dumped Lynbrook in its only game of the week, but saw its El Camino Division lead over second-place Homestead (6-3, 13-9) grow when the Mustangs stumbled against Los Altos.

In beating Saratoga 74-56 and Gunn 66-53, the Pioneers (7-2, 20-4) got some "payback" for two of their four defeats. Senior Ryan Matsuoka and juniors Eric Heslin and Brian Ly produced double-digit scoring in both games for 'Tino, which had lost to Gunn by one in the Cupertino Classic finals in December.

The Pioneers were hoping to stretch their victory string to seven when they traveled to Milpitas on Jan. 6. Entering that game, they had not lost for nearly a month, a six-point home setback to Saratoga on Jan. 9.

Cupertino handled the Falcons (4-5, 15-8) this time around, though, despite a 24-point effort by Saratoga junior Keon Ghafouri. Matsuoka scored 15, Ly and Heslin 14, J.D. Deborba and Mike Carson and Kevin Lew seven each for the Pioneers, who took a 20-point lead into the final period. Ly also had nine assists.

The Pioneers were sharp against Gunn, committing only five turnovers and sinking nearly 80 percent of their free throws (23 for 30). Heslin led the way with 17 points and six rebounds. Matsuoka had 15 and Ly 13, while centers Carson and Kenji Mitchell combined for 15 points and six rebounds.

After Milpitas, Cupertino will host Fremont on Senior Night, Feb. 9 at 7:45 p.m., before closing out the regular season at Los Gatos a week later.

Monta Vista, which buried 10 three-pointers during its win over Lynbrook, was set to meet Wilcox, Feb. 6. With a win, the Matadors would be shooting for their eighth in a row against Los Altos, Feb. 9 at 7:45 p.m.

Lynbrook had few answers for Monta Vista guard Marcus Woo. The 5-foot-8 senior had seven steals and five rebounds to go with his game high 21 points. Sophomore guard Kevin Lang (16 points, 5 assists) and junior forward Sean Brar (9 points, 9 rebounds) also were tough Matadors to stop. Seniors Ari Fine (15) and Kris Gingrich (12) paced Lynbrook.