Saratoga News
Sports
Cold gym, but Falcons get hot enough to beat the Firebirds
By Mike Barnhart
As the boys basketball teams from Saratoga and Fremont went through their pre-game shooting drills on Jan. 26, the opposing coaches sat next to each other, chatting and laughing for several minutes.
Perhaps Fremont coach Miguel Castillo was apologizing for the cool temperature in the gym. After all, earlier he had greeted a visitor and smiled, "Welcome to our refrigerator."
Whether either team sufficiently warmed up for the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division encounter was debatable, but the shooting percentages in the cold Sunnyvale gym were not. Both teams had sub-par shooting nights, but Saratoga prevailed, 45-38.
The Falcons, who have had to "step up" their efforts to compensate for the loss of standout player Bo Nielsen, jumped out to a 6-0 lead, and Fremont never did catch them. The Falcons led 11-8 at the end of one period, 19-17 at halftime and 34-25 after three quarters. The Firebirds rallied late, twice trimming a 12-point deficit to six during the final 1:34, but single free throws by Kourash Agahdel, P.J. Rezaii and Keon Ghafouri helped keep the game out of reach.
With the victory, Saratoga improved to 3-4 in De Anza play and 14-7 overall. After hosting Cupertino on Jan. 30, the Falcons travel down the road to play at Los Gatos, Feb. 2 at 7:45 p.m. Saratoga hopes to repeat the success it had against the Wildcats in the first round. The Falcons won 61-48 at home on Jan. 12.
It was the first time in three tries the Falcons were able to knock off Fremont. Previously, the Firebirds won a non-league game in November and the second division game of the season, 55-42 at Saratoga.
Saratoga junior Steven Walker scored six of his game-high 12 points in the third quarter, helping the Falcons extend their two-point halftime lead. Sophomore Ryan Pak's three-pointer late in the period gave the Falcons an 11-point lead late in the period, but a Fremont bucket made it a nine-point margin heading into the fourth quarter.
Junior Andy Capek's offensive rebound and follow gave Saratoga its biggest lead of the night, 40-27, at 4:42. Capek finished with 10 points and four rebounds, second only to Walker's 12 and five.
Walker also had four of the Falcons' 12 steals, and Agahdel had three. The duo sparked a defense that pressured the Firebirds into 16 turnovers and held them to 32.6 percent shooting from the field (16 of 49).
Saratoga was not much better, connecting on just 34 percent (15 of 44), but the Falcons enjoyed an 11-point advantage at the foul line. Saratoga was 14 of 23 from the charity stripe, while Fremont was 3 for 7.
Ghafouri finished with nine points and Agahdel had seven, all on foul shots, along with three steals, two assists and three rebounds.
Sean Casserly chipped in with three points, three rebounds and a steal. Nick Valuri did not score, but contributed three rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal. Chris Chiou added a pair of rebounds.
Three nights earlier, the Falcons led Gunn by one point at halftime, but scored just five points in the third quarter and lost 64-55.
Ghafouri fired in a game high 19 points and Pak had 11. Valuri scored seven, Chiou and Capek five apiece, Agahdel four and Walker and Casserly two each. The Falcons nailed five shots from beyond the three-point arc. Ghafouri and Pak scored two apiece and Capek hit one.
Saratoga's finished the pre-season with an 11-3 record. Nielsen, a 6-foot-3 senior who led the El Camino Division in rebounding last season, was off to a fast start in his third varsity season, leading the Falcons in scoring, rebounding and assists. After earning first team all-El Camino honors last season, Nielsen figured to be one of the top players in the more challenging De Anza circuit this winter.
Unfortunately, Nielsen's fine high school career ended just before the start of division play, when he broke an ankle while shooting hoops away in his spare time away from school.
