Saratoga News

Saratoga plays for tourney titles

Falcons fall to Saints in Saratoga Shootout finals

By Dick Sparrer

In a shootout on the dusty streets of the old wild, wild West, there was no such thing as second place.

But on the basketball floor? Well, it's an entirely different story.

The Saratoga boys' basketball team has discovered that there's nothing wrong with finishing second in a basketball shootout, and the Falcons seem to be rather good at it.

The Falcons finished second to Willow Glen in the Wildcat Shootout in Los Gatos a couple of weeks back, then they finished second again last weekend in their own Saratoga Shootout.

To finish second in a basketball tournament, a team must post back-to-back wins in the early rounds to reach the championship game. And that's just what Saratoga did in consecutive weeks.

The Falcons matched their Wildcat Shootout finish by beating Lincoln and Menlo to advance to the finals of the Saratoga Shootout against Santa Teresa. Saratoga lost 70-46 to the Saints in the finals to settle for a second straight second-place finish.

Saratoga pounded Lincoln 62-32 in the first round of the tourney, then knocked off Menlo 86-76 to move into the finals.

Luke Weger, who ended up earning a place on the all-tournament team, poured in 24 points to lead the Falcons to the important win over Menlo. Weger pitched in four three-pointers in the win.

Micah Weger supported his brother's effort with 22 points. He also bagged a three-pointer.

Oliver L'Abbe chipped in with 10 points, Corey Schwaderer hit nine; Mike Black, six; Geoff Lamotte and Ryan Anderson, four apiece; and Matt McKenna, two.

The win pushed the Falcons into the finals against Santa Teresa, and it was a close game through intermission.

The Saints led by a point a the first buzzer, 14-13, and were up just six at the half, 31-25. But Santa Teresa outscored the Falcons 26-8 in the third period to take control of the game.

Black led the Falcons with 15 points, and L. Weger hit 11. Both buried three-pointers.

Schwaderer supported with six points, Lamotte hit five, Jack Chaing added four, M. Weger dropped a three and L'Abbe hit two.

Saratoga, now 5-5 for the year, had opened the tourney with an easy 62-32 win over Lincoln. Black led the Falcons with 15 points, including a pair of threes, and L. Weger hit a three on his way to 11 points. M. Weger joined the two in twin figures with 10 points.

Lamotte supported with eight points, including two threes, and L'Abbe added six. Schwaderer, Anderson and Adam Weiskal hit four points each.

Santa Teresa opened the tourney with a 65-48 win over Prospect, despite a 19-point showing by Danny Baucus of the Panthers. Baucus bombed three three-pointers among his six field goals in the game.

Antonio Park also hit three threes to finish with nine points for the Panthers, and Jerome Ort added nine points. Barry Sharpe and Thomas Turner supported with four points apiece, Justin Karren added two and Spencer Tolbert hit one.

The Panthers came back two nights later with a 35-22 win over Pioneer to move into the tournament's consolation championship game.

Lee Robinson led Prospect with 12 points. Sharpe tossed in five; Eric Ostbarden, four; Turner, Park, Karren and Baucus, three each; and Andy Cates two. Park, Ostgarden and Baucus each popped three-pointers.

Kevin Gray and Todd Scudder led the Mustangs with seven points apiece, and each one buried a three. Pioneer is coached by former Prospect star Joe Berticevich.

The Panthers lost a tough 58-52 nod to Monta Vista in the consolation title game. Baucus buried six three-pointers on his way to 22 points, but it wasn't enough for Prospect.

Turner joined Baucus in double figures with 10 points, and Sharpe hit nine. Robinson added five points, and Ostgarden and Mike Suarez hit three apiece.

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