Los Gatos Cats win consolation title
Gatos girls fall to Westmont
By Dick Sparrer
Ben Kane generally leads the Los Gatos basketball team with his passing and floor leadership.
But last week the Gatos senior added another element to his game-- scoring.
Kane pumped in 52 points in four games to lead the Wildcats to three wins and a consolation championship at the Ed Hopkins Classic in Fairfield.
The Wildcats opened the week with an impressive 70-58 nonleague win over Silver Creek, then, after opening the Hopkins with a 56-21 loss to Benicia, the Cats beat East Union 42-33 and Fairfield 55-46 to take the consolation crown in the tournament.
With the injured Chris McMorrow on the bench on Tuesday, Kane pumped in 23 points to lead the Wildcats past the Raiders. Kane had three three-pointers among his eight field goals in the game, and he added four points at the free-throw line.
Junior forward Scott Holbert tossed in 14 points for the Cats in the victory and Adam Dallas and Ben Sandigo added 10 apiece. Chris Clock popped six points, Jayson Furia drilled a three and Nick Vizzusi and Brandon Fong had two points each.
With McMorrow, who had injured an ankle in a win over Willow Glen a week earlier, seeing limited action, the Cats lost 56-21 to Benicia. Kane led Gatos with seven points, McMorrow and Dallas hit four apiece, and Clock, Sandigo and Holbert had two each.
But the Cats came charging back against East Union. Sandigo had a three among his 11 points and Kane hit 10 points in the 42-33 win. Dallas added eight points, Clock five and Holbert and Yuki four each.
Los Gatos clinched the consolation title with a 55-46 win over Fairfield. Clock led the Cats with 14 points and Kane and Sandigo had 12 apiece. Holbert had nine, Dallas seven and Trent Edwards one. Kane hit a pair of threes and Dallas and Clock had one each.
The Wildcats, now 7-5 for the year, will return home Dec. 21 to host San Mateo at 7 p.m.
Gatos girls fall
The Los Gatos girls, meanwhile, lost their only game last week, falling 43-30. The Wildcats are now 3-4 in the young season as they prepare for the Oak Grove Holiday Tournament this week.
Westmont opened up a 14-4 first-period lead and stayed in front the rest of the way on the road to the 13-point victory.
The Warriors were up 11 at the half, led by nine heading into the final period and then outscored the Cats 16-12 to win by 13.
Junior guard Julia Pugliese tossed in seven points to lead all Gatos scorers in the game.
Michelle Beritzhoff, Jenny Dixon and Rachelle Townsend were close behind with six points each. Cristen McClenathan added three points and Tess Middlebrook hit two.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
Junior Julia Pugliese handles the ball for Los Gatos in last week's 43-30 loss to Westmont. The Cats are 3-4 in the young season.
