The Cupertino Courier
Sports
Playoff atmosphere when Mats top Mustangs
By Mike Barnhart
Since Monta Vista's boys basketball team does not have any post-season experience in recent years, the newly crowned champs in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League will have to label last Friday's hard-fought, come-from-behind Senior Night victory over Homestead as its playoff preparation.
The SCVAL season finale felt like a playoff game, with a raucous crowd in a packed gym and intense play by two teams in the postseason. The Matadors overcame a poor shooting night with four quarters of relentless full-court pressure defense, and they eventually pulled away in the final period for a 57-46 triumph.
It was the 10th straight win for Monta Vista, since its only division loss, 55-44 to Mountain View on Jan. 5. The Matadors' 11-1 division record was four games better than runner-up Homestead's 7-5 mark. Los Altos and Mountain View both finished 6-6, while Lynbrook and Wilcox shared fifth place at 5-7 and Santa Clara followed at 2-10.
Monta Vista (18-9 overall) will now move on to the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, opening at home on Feb. 21, 7 p.m., against Alvarez (13-11).
De Anza Division teams Cupertino and Fremont also qualified for the playoffs. Cupertino takes a 21-6 record into the Division III tourney, after going 8-4 and sharing second place with Gunn behind De Anza champion Palo Alto (10-2). Fremont had a tough time in division play, going 3-9, but landed a berth in the Division II bracket because of its 16-12 overall mark.
Cupertino, the No. 5 seed, will host Jefferson (17-9) on Feb. 21, 7 p.m. Fremont's first game is set for Feb. 21, 7 p.m., at St. Francis (11-14).
Cupertino picked up some momentum with a 61-45 win at Los Gatos. Junior Eric Heslin's 27-point outburst helped the Pioneers bounce back from consecutive losses to Milpitas and Fremont.
"I think we'll give people trouble in the playoffs," bubbled enthusiastic Monta Vista coach Matt Tait, an assistant coach at West Valley College during the previous three seasons. "I'm not saying how many games we'll win, but I think we will cause some problems."
The main problem for Monta Vista's opponents is the Matadors' style of play. The Mats' up tempo offense, which often features more three-point shot attempts than two-point tries, and their pesty brand of defense often lures teams into playing at an unusually frenetic pace.
Although Homestead committed many turnovers (31 for the game) and 6-foot-9 senior center Ryan Dedrick sat out nearly all of the second quarter with three fouls, the Mustangs persevered. They twice built leads of eight points in the first half and led 29-25 at intermission. Monta Vista started the second half with two quick buckets to tie the game, but the Mustangs scored seven straight while blanking the Matadors for nearly five minutes.
After making only five of 29 shots (17 percent) in the first half, Monta Vista was just 2 for 7 in the third quarter and scoreless from three-point range until sophomore Kevin Lang's trey ended the dry spell with 2:40 left in the period. Junior Sean Brar then popped a pair of threes, pulling the Matadors even, 38-38, heading into the fourth quarter.
Monta Vista outscored Homestead, 19-8, in the final period. Senior guard Eric Lee, the Matadors' top scorer (13.5 points per game) this season, tallied seven of his game high 18 points in the quarter. Lang had six of his 13 during that stretch.
"We were not worried when we were behind," said Monta Vista senior guard Marcus Woo, a fourth-year varsity player making his first trip to CCS playoffs. "Coach teaches us that nobody can hang with us in the fourth quarter--we're so well-conditioned."
Brar finished with 15 points for the Matadors and Woo added nine points and six steals. Lee added five steals and senior Eric Sum chipped in with two points.
Dedrick paced Homestead with 12 points, the same amount he had in the Mustangs' 47-42 victory over Lynbrook on Feb. 13. Tim Vanderet, a 6-foot-5 senior who recently signed a letter of intent to play football next fall at Ivy League school Dartmouth, scored nine and grabbed nine rebounds.
Senior Shamir Ross collected eight points, six rebounds and four assists, while junior Patrick Myers tallied seven, grabbed 10 rebounds and had a solid floor game for the Mustangs. Senior Mickey Lai added six points and junior Jeff Whitford four.
Although Monta Vista did not shoot well from the field, it earned a sizable advantage at the foul line. The Matadors converted 15 of 17 tries in the first half and finished 21 of 27. Meanwhile, Homestead made only 8 of 20 free throws.
Mustangs, Vikes share title
After a 42-39 victory over Lynbrook on Valentine's Day, the Homestead girls basketball team was looking to capture the El Camino Division championship outright at Monta Vista. But the Mustangs lost 52-42 to a very hot team and had to settle for a co-championship with Lynbrook instead.
Lynbrook, meanwhile, took care of business by beating Cupertino, 42-24. Homestead and Lynbrook finished with 9-3 records, one game better than third-place Saratoga (8-4) and two ahead of Los Altos (7-5). Monta Vista placed fifth at 6-6.
The CCS playoffs begin this week with Homestead (14-11 overall) and Monta Vista (12-12) will competing in Division I, while Lynbrook (21-6 overall) of the De Anza Division plays in Division II. First-round games are Feb. 21 with Homestead at Gilroy (17-6) at 5:30 p.m., Monta Vista at Evergreen Valley (17-9) at 7 p.m., Lynbrook at Gunn (16-10) at 5:30 p.m.
The hottest of the Matadors, 5-foot-4 senior sharpshooter Sophia Tam, scored 25 points against Homestead. It was the fourth straight win for Monta Vista, and Tam had at least 20 or points in each of them. Tam, who averages 17 points a game, has been over 20 nine times this year and has scored in double figures in 19 of the 22 games she has played in.
Monta Vista capped a dramatic turnaround in the second half of the season. After going 1-5 in the first half of the El Camino slate, the Matadors won five of six in the second half.
"The girls just decided they wanted to win games" explained coach Sara Borelli. "They have been giving their best effort and leaving it all on the court."
Supporting Tam's latest scoring outburst was senior Kelly Bodwin with nine points and eight rebounds. Three other seniors played key roles against Homestead. Nisha Kayshap scored eight, Sabina Lau had five points and eight rebounds, and Scarlett Su had a team high nine rebounds and two points. Junior Amanda Hui scored three points.
Seniors Elan Kim (11) and Kate Mower (10) paced Homestead scoring. Desiree Prevo tallied six points, Nicole Chan and Emily Blazensky added five apiece, Kylie Loutit had three and Melissa Cheng two.
In the key win two nights before against Lynbrook, Blazensky posted a game high 19 points and Mower chimed in with 14. Senior Mira Stauffacher (14) and Stephanie Cai (10) were tops for Lynbrook.
Mats in semifinals
After a scoreless first half, No. 4 seed Monta Vista broke loose for a 3-0 triumph over Leigh in the quarterfinals of the CCS Division I girls soccer playoffs, Feb. 17 at Milpitas High.
Meanwhile, at Piedmont Hills in San Jose, No. 7 seed Homestead and Santa Teresa played through two overtime sessions deadlocked 1-1 before the No. 2 Saints advanced into the semifinals on penalty kicks, 4-2.
The Matadors, who had a bye in the first round, improved to 13-4-4 and advanced to a semifinal match with Santa Teresa (13-4-4) on Feb. 20 at Valley Christian in San Jose. The winner will return to Valley Christian on Feb. 24 for the championship game against either Los Altos or Carlmont.
Freshman Michelle Pao scored one goal and assisted on another for the Matadors. Senior Emily Rubin and sophomore Shandon Rovetta had the other goals for Monta Vista. Senior Jesica Lau and junior Sarah Trankle notched assists.
Homestead, which finished the season 9-5-6, had opened the 12-team tournament with a 3-0 triumph at Gilroy. Diana Charrier scored two goals, both on assists by Melanie Jones. Jones also knocked in a goal, after taking a pass from Kristina Roome.
