Saratoga News Falcons, Panthers are winners Westmont's Mahaffey wins all-tourney honors at Del Mar By Dick Sparrer It begins for real this week. And the basketball teams at Saratoga and Prospect are ready. Both the Falcons and Panthers enter league play with winning records after impressive victories last week. Saratoga rebounded from two losses at the Haybaler Classic in Hollister with a 49-35 win over Westmont to finish the nonleague campaign with a 9-5 record. And Prospect wrapped up the preseason with a solid 59-56 overtime win over Monta Vista to push its record to 10-3 heading into league play in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. The Panthers will open the league season at home on Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m., when they host Willow Glen. Thomas Turner poured in 26 points to lead Prospect to the win over Monta Vista last week. Mike Senteio finished with 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers, and Barry Sharpe added 10, including a three. Jerome Ort and Gil Vasquez chipped in with four points apiece, and Kelly Stephens fired in a three to round out the scoring for the Panthers in the win. Prospect jumped out to a 20-15 lead in the first period and held that five-point lead at the half, 33-28. The Panthers added to their lead by two in the third quarter, but Monta Vista outscored Prospect 15-8 in the fourth to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Panthers topped the Matadors 9-6 in the extra period, though, to pull out the three-point victory. Warriors win against Menlo-Atherton Westmont had beaten Menlo-Atherton 43-39 a game before falling to the Falcons. Collins led the Warriors with 11 points, including a three, and Dan Friske added 10 points. Sherburne and Feras Elrayas added eight points apiece, Navdeep Hundel hit four and Erik Cisler had two. Elrayas hit a three-pointer in the win. The Warriors open play in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL this week when they head to Del Mar on Jan. 5, 7 p.m. Saratoga Falcons top Westmont Warriors Saratoga prepared for the start of the year in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League with a 14-point win over Westmont last week. Micah Weger poured in 19 points, including a three, and Geoff Lamotte added 17 points, including three threes, to lead the Falcons to the 49-35 victory. Bill Wallace supported with six points, Matt Garrapolo added five, and Daniel Goñi hit two. The Falcons were up two after a period, 10-8, but tied at the half, 16-16. Saratoga pulled out by three points in the third quarter, but then took control in the fourth, outscoring Westmont 16-5. Vincent Chung led the Warriors with 16 points, including a three. Kyle Collins and Daniel Sherburne added seven points apiece, Chris Funke had three and Robert Li hit two. Collins hit a three-pointer. Saratoga opened the week at the Haybaler Classic, but dropped two straight games, losing a 50-49 heartbreaker to King City and a tight 78-71 nod to Seaside. Lamotte canned three threes on his way to 20 points against King City. Weger supported with 10 points, Garrapolo hit nine, Mike Crosby five, Wallace and Adam Weiskal two apiece and Scott Snider one. Crosby added a three. Lamotte went for 24 points, including four three-pointers, and Weger added 19, including a three, but the Falcons lost by seven to Seaside. Garrapolo finished in double digits with 11 points, Wallace had six, Crosby four and Goñi and Max Sandigo two each. Saratoga girls win Nicole LaMore tossed in 13 points, and Karin Bencala added 10 to lead the Saratoga girls basketball team to a 42-38 nonleague win over Los Gatos last week. The Falcons are now 5-4 for the year. Mahaffey stars for Westmont Sheryl Mahaffey was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Westmont girls to the consolational championship at the Del Mar Tournament. Mahaffey pitched in 56 points in three games, including seven three-pointers. The Warriors lost 49-41 to eventual champion Homestead, but came back to beat Carlmont 49-26 and Lynbrook 53-23. Mahaffey poured in 22 points in the final game against the Vikings. Alyssa Parsons added 14 points, Kim Castillo seven, Stacey Simmons four, and Jennifer Casselberry, Michelle Ma and Jennifer Payne had two each. Mahaffey had pumped in 19 in the win over Carlmont. Nina Baca hit 10, Parsons and Zuleeka Mohamed six apiece, and Casselberry, Payne, Simmons and Jenny Brown two each. The Warriors, now 8-4, lost to Homestead in the first round of the tourney. It was Westmont's second loss to the Mustangs this season. Mahaffey led the Warriors with 15 points. Parsons had nine, Mohamed seven, Brown four, and Castillo, Payne and Simmons had two each. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 6, 1999. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.