A female student from Willow Glen, Jordan Sims, opened up the night for the Rams with a heart-warming rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, and then the Rams went to work, pulling out a close 36-27 win over the 76ers in a low-scoring affair on Jan. 28.

Willow Glen started the game slowly, leading only 9-7 after the first quarter. In fact, it was the 76ers scoring the first points of the night after two full minutes had already clicked off the clock. And the second quarter was just as slow for both teams, ending with the Rams on top 17-15.

"We struggled in the first half offensively," said Willow Glen coach Todd Meeker. "We have a real young team, starting three sophomores."

Willow Glen has a habit of starting slow then picking it up in the second half. On Jan. 25 the Rams defeated Prospect, scoring only 20 points in the first half, but more than doubling that with 41 in the second half.

On Friday night, the third quarter remained silent from both sides of the court, while the Rams scored just five points and held Independence to only four.

It wasn't until the fourth quarter that the game started to pick up. Willow Glen scored 14 points to the 76ers' eight, extending the lead and holding on for a victory.

Junior Hienock Habte led the scoring for the Rams, putting up 13 points. Habte also had nine rebounds and a blocked shot. Three of Habte's points came from outside the arc, while the majority came inside the paint.

The next leading scorer for Willow Glen was sophomore Steven Skavdahl, who had nine points on the night, all of which came from three-point land. Though Skavdahl is not an inside player, he was also able to pull down eight boards for the Rams.

Senior Will Robinson added seven points in the victory, with three from the line in the fourth quarter. "Will is our leader on this team," said Meeker. "He is our best defender and carries a lot on his shoulders."

This win keeps Willow Glen in the hunt for the Central Coast Section playoffs with a 4-4 record in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

"Most of our games come down to the wire," said Meeker. "We just need to play them one game at a time. Our ultimate goal for the season is to finish at least 7-7 and make CCS."

The rest of the points for the Rams were scored by Kyle Schroeder with four, Ruben Medina two and Lawrence Montepio one.

Willow Glen was to face Leland on Feb. 1 at home and will travel to Andrew Hill on Feb. 4.

"At this point we just need to be thinking about Leland," said Meeker.

The Rams, 8-11 for the year, fell to Leland in their first meeting, 69-55, on Jan. 7 and were able to defeat Andrew Hill, 52-37, on Jan. 11.

In the win over Prospect to open the week, Habte had the hot hand with 27 points, hitting three three-pointers among his 11 field goals and adding two points at the free-throw line.

Skavdahl joined Habte in double digits with 12 points, including a three. Robinson and Schroeder added seven points apiece, each with a three.

The Willow Glen girls, like the boys, split a couple of games last week to pull even at 4-4 in the Santa Teresa Division. The Rams topped Independence 54-42, but lost 40-25 to Santa Teresa.

Diana Schnabel poured in 15 points and Emily Roberts had 12 in the win over the 76ers. Schnabel hit 13 in the loss to the Saints.