Westmont, Leland meet in two big games

By Dick Sparrer

There was plenty on the line when the Westmont and Leland basketball teams collided last week. Not just once... but twice!

The Westmont and Leland girls played an important second-place game in the rugged Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, and the Warriors and Chargers played for first in boys action in the West Valley Division of the BVAL. But while the games were similar in their importance in the league races, the results were very different.

The Westmont girls turned back the Chargers 49-37 to take over sole ownership of the second place in the division race. Mitty tops the pack at 10-0 with Westmont second at 8-2.

But the Westmont boys dropped a 49-31 nod to Leland to slip a game behind the Chargers in the West Valley title race. Westmont came back to beat Lick 70-48 later in the week to improve to 7-2 in league play, but Leland beat Pioneer in overtime to move to 8-1.

Warriors win

Mia Simmons poured in 16 points, and Alyssa Parsons added 11 to lead the Westmont girls to the 49-37 win over Leland.

Sheryl Mahaffey supported with nine points for the winners, Jenny Brown hit six, Jennifer Brownridge had four, Kim Castillo two and Veronica Sifuentez one.

Simmons came back with 18 points, and Parsons dropped 13 to lead the Warriors to a 54-41 league win over Piedmont Hills later in the week. Mahaffey joined the two in double digits with 10 points, hitting a pair of three-pointers.

Brown popped five points, Gina Kottikas four and Castillo and Zuleeka Mohamed two apiece.

Simmons finished off a 46-point week with 14 in a 67-44 nonleague loss to Pinewood on Saturday night. Pinewood is 22-1 for the year.

Mahaffey dropped a pair of threes on her way to 11 points. Parsons had six points, Brownridge five, Sifuente four, Justine Stagi three and Brown one.

The Warriors, 15-5 for the year, will host Independence on Feb. 9, 7 p.m., before visiting first-place Mitty on Friday for a key 7 p.m. game.

Westmont boys split

The Westmont boys, meanwhile, lost to Leland before beating Lick.

Clay Tolbert tossed in a pair of threes on his was to 12 points to lead all Westmont scorers in the loss to the Chargers. Caleb Pitts added eight points, Daniel Sherburne had five, Brent Hughes four and Vincent Chung two.

Westmont improved to 7-2 in league and to 14-10 overall with a rousing 70-48 win over Lick on Friday night.

Pitts had a big night for the Warriors. The 6-foot-4 junior center had three three-pointers among his eight field goals, and he added 12 points at the free-throw line to finish the game with 30 points.

Sherburne ended up with twin figures with 11 points. Tolbert hit seven, Mike Chapman and Erik Cisler had six apiece, Chung four, John McAvoy two and Colin McAvoy and Hughes one each.

Westmont faces a big week, visiting Pioneer on Feb. 9 and hosting Yerba Buena on Feb. 11 in a pair of 7:30 p.m. games. The Mustangs are just 3-5 in league play, but have played everyone close, and YB is 7-1 and tied for first with Leland.

Falcons fall

The Saratoga boys lost 64-59 to Homestead last Friday night to slip two games off the pace in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Micah Weger poured in 26 points, and Mike Crosby added 19, but the Falcons lost by five to the Mustangs.

Weger had four three-pointers among his seven field goals, and he tossed in eight charity throws to lead all scorers with 26. Crosby finished with eight buckets, including three threes.

Scott Snider added six points for Saratoga, and Bill Wallace had four.

Saratoga, 7-2 in league and 21-2 for the year, had opened the week with a 49-39 win over Fremont.

Weger led the Falcons with 14 points, and Crosby chipped in with 11. Crosby hit two three-pointers, and Weger popped one. Wallace supported with eight points, Snider and Tony Kau had six apiece, and A.J. Peper and Robert Kim hit two each.

Saratoga will visit Monta Vista on Feb. 8 and will host Cupertino on Feb. 10 in a pair of 7 p.m. games before heading to Lynbrook on Feb. 16 for a key 7 p.m. clash.

Vikings win two

Lynbrook continues to roll through the pack in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL. The Vikings beat Homestead 44-25 and Monta Vista 48-35 last week to improve to 9-0 in the division and to 17-6 for the year.

Brandon Davis popped three threes among his five field goals to finish with 13 points in Lynbrook's win over Homestead. Justin Fujihara and Ray Supan each finished with nine points and each hit a three, and B.K. Robertson had eight points. Jeff Chan also popped a three, and Scott Stevens had two points.

Davis came back with 16 points, including three more threes, to lead the Vikings past Monta Vista. Robertson joined him in double figures with 12 points.

Ryan Fujihara had a couple of threes among his eight points, Supan had four points, Chan and J. Fujihara hit three each, and Steven added two.

Lynbrook puts its perfect league record on the line at Fremont on Feb. 10, 7 p.m., before hosting Saratoga on Feb. 16 in a big 7 p.m. game.

Panthers lose two

The Prospect boys lost twice in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL last week, falling 51-42 to Overfelt and 47-38 to Willow Glen.

Zak Diriya popped 11 points, and Mike Senteio hit nine, but the Panthers lost by nine to the Rams. Diriya hit a pair of threes and Senteio had one.

Chad Holan chipped in with seven points in the game, Slaven Moro hit six, Mike Stephens popped a three, and Kelley Stevens had two.

The Panthers, 4-5 in the division and 13-9 for the year, had fallen by nine to Overfelt earlier in the week. Stephens led the Panthers with nine points, including a couple of three-pointers, and Moro had seven points. John Miner and Holan had six points apiece, Ryan Sainsbury hit five, Diriya four, Senteio and Amer Karabegovic two each and David Najima one.

Saratoga girls split

Stephanie Morrison and Dernie Wang pitched in nine points apiece to lead the Saratoga girls basketball team to a tight 39-36 win over Los Altos last week. Nicole LaMore added seven points, and Courtney Miyamoto hit six.

But the Falcons lost 51-37 to Wilcox later in the week to slip to 5-5 in the El Camino Division and to 8-11 for the year.

LaMore had a big night for Saratoga against the Chargers, pouring in 20 points. Morrison supported with 12 points in the game.

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