The Falcons pounded Santa Clara 66-57 after jumping out to a quick 21-9 first-quarter lead, then rolled to a lopsided 78-33 win over Wilcox when the outscored the Chargers in every period.

Senior guard Nima Rad poured in a team-high 19 points to lead the Falcons to the league season-opening win over the Bruins. Rad blistered the nets for an impressive five three-point buckets.

Senior center Danny Wallace tossed down 12 points and junior guard Ryan Matsuura joined the two in double digits with 10 points. Chris Etterman had a three among his seven points, Bo Nielsen added five points, Ben Coggins and Justin Kemp had four apiece, Scott Newberry and Kia Agahdel hit two each and Ken Baba had one.

The Falcons came back to drub Wilcox 78-33 two days later, and again it was Rad with the hot hand. Rad had four threes among his five field goals and he added a free throw to finish with 15 points.

Etterman shared team-high honors with 15 points, including a pair of threes, and Wallace was close behind with 14 points.

Kemp had a solid night with nine points and Matsuura had a three among his five points. David Orasin and Agahdel added four points apiece, Coggins and Peter Sclavos hit three each, and Nielsen, Newberry and Barry Ju all had two.

Saratoga, now 14-3 for the year, will visit Monta Vista on Jan. 12, 7 p.m., before a Friday bye. The Falcons will be back home on Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m., against Los Altos.

Saratoga girls split

The Saratoga girls basketball team opened play in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL with a 46-41 win over Gunn, but lost 48-34 to Homestead on Friday night.

Julia Dreyfuss was the Falcons' scoring leader in the loss to the Mustangs with 18 points.

The Saratoga girls were to visit Milpitas on Jan. 11 and will be idle on Friday before hosting Los Gatos on Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.

Warriors win, lose

The Westmont girls, like Saratoga, opened the league season with a win and a loss in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. The Warriors opened with a 55-43 win over Piedmont Hills, but dropped a 49-47 heartbreaker to Oak Grove.

Senior sensation Rachel Gellman pounded three three-pointers among her five field goals to finish with 13 points for the Warriors in their win over the Pirates. Junior Chelsea Atkins also finished with 13 points and senior Megan Higbee had 10 for Westmont.

Coach John Mackey's Warriors jumped out to a quick 12-8 lead in the first quarter and outscored the Bucs in the second and third to take a commanding 14-point lead into the final period, 44-30.

Junior Lynley Takaki canned eight points, Stacey Stenzel seven, Marie Rippen three and Megan Scheibli one to round out the scoring for Westmont.

The Warriors battled back from a 30-25 halftime deficit to tie the score 41-41 heading into the fourth, but the Eagles managed to win by two.

Gellman had three threes on her way to a 21-point night and Takaki added 13 points, including a pair of threes. Scheibli had eight points, Stenzel three and Higbee two in the loss.

After hosting Del Mar on Jan. 12, Westmont will visit Leigh on Jan. 14, 7 p.m.

Panthers top Royals

Prospect, meanwhile, split a pair of games in the first week of play in the West Valley Division of the BVAL. The Panthers lost a tough one, 56-53 to Evergreen Valley, but came back to blast Overfelt 63-30.

The Panthers outscored Overfelt in every period en route to the 33-point win over the Royals.

Shelly Otaguro led a balanced scoring attack for the Panthers with 12 points, and Kendra Rimbach added 10 points, including a couple of three balls. Alonia Williams and Zlata Malicevic pitched in eight points apiece and Corissa Hulick added seven.

Jennifer Ton and Eadeh Faizi had five points each, Kristen Tranberg hit four and Lisa McLaren and Randeep Dhaliwal added two apiece.

Ton had 12 points, but the Panthers lost a tough three-point decision to Evergreen.

The Panthers were to visit Yerba Buena on Jan. 11 and will host James Lick on Jan. 13, 7 p.m.

Westmont drops two

The Westmont boys dropped back-to-back Mt. Hamilton Division decisions last week, falling 54-35 to Piedmont Hills and 38-37 to Oak Grove in overtime.

Chantz Staden tossed in 14 points and Michael Johnson added 10, but the Warriors lost an overtime heartbreaker to the Eagles. Matt Hosack pitched in six points, Ryan Kanzaki added three and Casey Modiri and Jason Garcia had two apiece.

No Warrior could get into double digits in the loss to title-favorite Piedmont earlier in the week. Modiri led Westmont with eight points and Johnson, Hosack and Michael Weimer popped six each. Garcia added four points, Kanzaki had three and Staden hit two.

Westmont, now 9-8 for the year, head to Branham on Jan. 12, 7 p.m., before hosting Leigh on Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Panthers lose a pair

Kevin Haynes buried 13 points and Kendall Hendon added nine, but the Prospect boys lost 54-39 to Evergreen Valley on Friday night. The loss was the second of the week for the Panthers in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL. Prospect opened the season with a 59-39 loss to Overfelt.

Haynes and Hendon each popped threes against the Cougars. Danny Okazaki added five points, Zack Stevenson and Troy Holan hit four apiece, and Kenny Strickland and Nate Taye had two each.

Hendon and Strickland had nine points apiece, but the Panthers lost by 20 to the Royals to open league play. Haynes chipped in with seven points, and both Hendon and Haynes dropped threes.

Holan added four points, Taye and Jeff Sen had three apiece and Okazaki and Daniel Huskin-Jones scored two each.

The Panthers, 7-8 for the season, were to visit Gunderson on Jan. 11 and will return home on Jan. 14 to host Independence at 7 p.m.