Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Los Gatos' Mike McSweeney hides his face in the aftermath of Saturday's loss to Hillsdale in the CCS Division III championship game.

Gatos falls in title game

But Marino is proud of his Cats

By Dick Sparrer

Jim Marino could not disguise the pride in his voice. Nor did he have any interest in doing so.

His Los Gatos basketball team had just lost the Central Coast Section Division III championship game to Hillsdale, but you wouldn't have known it by Marino's demeanor.

"I'm really proud of these guys," said the veteran coach just hours after his Wildcats had lost to Hillsdale 63-58 in the CCS title game.

And he has every reason to be proud. His Wildcats have overachieved all season long to become the winningest boys' basketball team in Los Gatos High School history.

"At the beginning of the season, not many people thought that this was a team that could get to the CCS championship game," said Marino. "It's a great tribute to these kids that they got there."

What's more, they got there by winning more games than any Los Gatos team ever.

The Cats won 22 games in 1983-84 behind Eric Nielsen and Derrick Johnson, but the Wildcats have already won 24 games this season and still could have a few games left.

Los Gatos earned a place in the Northern California playoffs by virtue of reaching the CCS title game. The Cats open the NorCals on the road on March 11. That winner moves into the semifinals on March 13, with the championship game set for March 15 at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

"We could meet again," said Marino, referring to Hillsdale, the team Gatos played for the CCS championship. "We could wind up being the best two teams in this division."

They certainly did play even up in the section title game.

"We were two very good teams, two very competitive teams, and teams that were very close in ability," Marino said. But the Wildcats came up five points short.

"We got some good looks at some open shots in the fourth," he added. "But the ball just didn't go in for us.

"We played our hearts out--we played extra hard. The kids may be a little down right now, but they look back and know that they gave it all they had."

Brad Griffith was the leader for the Wildcats, just as he has been all season long. The 6-foot-5 senior forward led the club with 22 points and ripped down a team-high 11 rebounds.

"He's the glue that holds the team together," said Marino, praising Griffith. "He's solid, and the other players have a lot of respect for him."

Griffith led the Cats from the floor, tossing in 10 field goals in 15 tries, and he added a pair of points at the free-throw line.

Dave Utt, another 6-foot-5 senior, supported with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats.

"He's really come on in the playoffs and done a great job on the boards, eliminating opposing teams' second effort shots," Marino said of Utt. "He's played some of his better basketball of the year [in the playoffs]."

Mike Pugh poured in 13 points, including three three-pointers, and added eight rebounds and three assists for the Cats. Court Showerman finished with six points and a Gatos-leading seven assists. Mike McSweeney also tossed in a three-pointer.

"The whole team has really been focused throughout the playoffs," Marino said of his Cats. "We needed to be, too, because we came up against some good teams."

The best of them all had to be Hillsdale, a team that entered the finals unbeaten this season. Hillsdale will now take a 27-0 record on to the NorCal playoffs.

Still, Gatos hung right with Hillsdale in the title game. The Cats had 16 turnovers to 14 for Hillsdale, and they held a slight edge in rebounds, 37-36.

Los Gatos actually led by a point at the half. The Cats held a 17-16 edge after a period and matched Hillsdale's 14 points in the second quarter. But they fell back five points in the third when they were outscored 20-14, and they couldn't make up any ground in the fourth.

The loss was just the fifth of the year for the Wildcats, and three of those losses were to CCS champions. Along with Hillsdale, Gatos lost twice to CCS Division I champion Milpitas.

Los Gatos earned the spot in the section title game with a thrilling 59-57 win over Del Mar in the semifinals.

"This was a nice win," Marino said. "It was a very, very physical game. The farther you get into the playoffs, the more the officials let you play, so the advantage usually goes to the more physical team.

"Del Mar was more physical," he added, "but we were a little smarter down the stretch."

Los Gatos led most of the way, but only by a bucket in the final seconds, and Del Mar had the basketball.

McSweeney's tight defense forced the Del Mar shooter to move inside the three-point line for a desperation shot that would only tie it, not win it, but it missed the mark and the Cats had the win.

Griffith led the Cats with 15 points and 10 boards, and Utt was close behind with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Showerman had 11 points and nine assists, Pugh finished with 11 points, and McSweeny had eight points. Pugh and McSweeney each dropped a pair of threes, and Showerman added one.

"We played well," said the coach. "We had some shots, we had our opportunities--we just came up a little short."