LG Wildcats second in Shootout
Furia, Holbert win all-tourney honors
By Dick Sparrer
Three weeks into the season, and the Los Gatos boys basketball team has already played for two tournament championships. And what do the Wildcats have to show for their efforts? A couple of second-place efforts.
Los Gatos finished second at the Westmont Invitational, losing in the finals to Del Mar, and the Cats were second again last weekend in their own Los Gatos Lion's Club Wildcat Shootout.
This time it was Armijo of Fairfield that turned back the Cats 64-39 in a tournament title game. But each time, it was a similar story for Los Gatos.
When the Cats played the Dons for the Westmont title, they were still waiting for talented 6-foot-4 junior guard Trent Edwards to finish his outstanding football season.
And when they played Armijo last Saturday night, they had Edwards, but they were without standout 6-foot-4 junior forward Chris McMorrow, who had twisted an ankle in the semifinal win over Willow Glen.
Despite the absence of McMorrow, the Wildcats were able to give Armijo a tough game-- at least for two quarters.
"We really played well for a half," said Gatos coach Jim Marino. "We zoned them most of the game, and definitely for all of the first half. And we boarded pretty good."
"But in the second half, they turned it up a notch," Marino said of Armijo. "They increased their defensive pressure, and we turned the ball over a few times. And they really controlled the boards."
Gatos trailed by just a bucket at intermission, 30-28, but Armijo outscored the Wildcats 17-6 in the third period and 17-5 in the fourth to take the game away.
"We had some shots, but they had their hands in our faces," said the coach.
Senior Ben Kane was the scoring leader for the Wildcats with 11 points. Junior Scott Holbert supported with nine points, Edwards and Ben Sandigo had six apiece, Jayson Furia hit five and Adam Dallas added two. Edwards drilled a pair of three-pointers to account for his six points.
Sandigo led the Cats on the boards with seven rebounds and Edwards and Holbert pulled down five apiece. Sandigo also led the club with four assists and Kane and Furia had three apiece. Furia and Dallas each had a steal.
Furia finished the tournament with 31 points, 10 assists and seven steals to lead the Cats in each category. Holbert had 29 points and a team high 24 rebounds.
The two were each named to the all-tournament team along with Jeff McCall and Andre Bell of Armijo, Joe Gutierrez of Willow Glen, Jimmy Herrera of Live Oak and Michael Pope of Leland.
Gatos earned its place in the title with an easy 65-48 win over Willow Glen in the semifinals.
"We came out shooting very well and controlled that game all the way," said Marino.
Furia led the early charge with two three-pointers each in the game.
"He had a great game," said Marino of Furia. "And not just scoring, but all-around."
Furia finished with 14 points, including three threes, and he led the club with six assists and three steals.
McMorrow was the scoring leader for the Cats with 18 points. Edwards hit a pair of threes on his way to nine points, Kane and Holbert tossed in eight points apiece, Dallas six and Sandigo two. Dallas hit a couple of three-pointers and Kane had one.
Holbert topped the club on the boards with 12 rebounds and Edwards and McMorrow ripped down six apiece. Kane chipped in with four assists and three steals.
Sandigo had a big game against Branham in the opener. The 6-foot-4 junior forward led the club with 15 points and 11 rebound in a 70-41 win over the Bruins.
Furia had a pair of threes among his 12 points and McMorrow and Holbert also had 12 points apiece. Kane finished with nine points and Dallas and Nick Vizzusi hit four each. Vizzusi added a three for the Cats.
Furia, Dallas and Edwards had four assists each in the win. Furia added three steals and Kane had two.
Sandigo, McMorrow and Kane were coming off of all-tournament team performances at Westmont.
Kane, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, joins McMorrow and Edwards as top returners from last year's club. Kane won all-league second team honors as a junior.
The three join juniors Furia, Holbert and Sandigo as leaders this season as the Wildcats chase a title in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
"The league will be very competitive with us, Palo Alto, Milpitas and Wilcox all having a chance to win it," said Marino, whose club finished third a year ago with a 9-3 record (14-14 overall).
The Cats, now 4-4 for the year, will host Silver Creek on Dec. 12, 7 p.m., before heading to Fairfield Dec. 14-16 to compete in the Ed Hopkins Classic. Gatos opens on Thursday against Benicia at 6 p.m. The winner meets with Armijo-East Union (Manteca) winner on Friday.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
Los Gatos junior Jayson Furia drives for two points against Branham. Furia helped the Cats to second in the Wildcat Shootout and was named to the all-tournament team.
