Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Skavdahl's big night not enough for Rams Willow Glen drops one to Seaside in playoffs
By Kevin Sparrer
Steven Skavdahl of Willow Glen refused to end his senior basketball season without a fight. Skavdahl did everything he could to keep the Rams from ending their run in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs early, but unfortunately it wasn't enough.
Skavdahl scored 26 points, but Willow Glen lost 60-51 to Seaside in the first round of the CCS playoffs on Feb. 21 at the home of the Spartans.
Skavdahl was all over the court, scoring five from the free-throw line and 12 from outside the arc. He was also able to pull down four rebounds.
Supporting Skavdahl was Billy Hahn, who scored 13 in the loss. Hahn did the majority of his scoring from outside the three-point line, sinking three threes. He also added two from the free-throw line. Hahn pulled down two boards and had the only blocked shot of the night for the Rams.
Kyle Schroeder was next for the Rams with half of his eight points coming from the line, but he was also able to lead his team with seven rebounds.
Anthony Rodriguez and Jimmy Renneke added two points apiece to the Rams total, but it wasn't enough to topple the Spartans.
Along with the solo bucket, Rodriguez was also one of the leading rebounders for the Rams, pulling down seven boards.
Brian Chunn wasn't able to score any points in the loss, but he was a big asset underneath the basket with six rebounds.
The Rams fell behind early against Seaside, trailing 15-8 after the first quarter and 31-22 at the half. Again after the third quarter the gap only increased to 44-29, but the Rams made an attempt at a run in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Spartans 22-16. Unfortunately it was too little too late.
At the end of the season it was Schroeder who finished with the most points for the Rams, though not by much. The top two point-scorers for Willow Glen were within seven points of each other. Schroeder scored 375 points this season, with 25 three-pointers and 71 free throws. Skavdahl was right behind him with 368 points, with the majority coming outside the arc. Skavdahl had 53 three-pointers and made 72 from the line.
Hahn was next on the points list with 178. He had 14 threes and 22 free throws.
Chunn led the stats inside the paint, pulling down 157 rebounds with 57 offensive boards and 100 defensive. Behind Chunn was Schroeder with 143 rebounds--110 defensive and 33 offensive. Skavdahl was third on the list of rebounders with 96, including 72 defensive and 24 offensive.
In assists it was Skavdahl who had the lion's share with 98, while Schroeder was next with 68. Hahn was third on the list with 49.
The last couple of weeks were tough for the Rams. They suffered a loss to Leland in the last week of the regular season, costing them a share of the championship in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, then lost in the first round of the CCS playoffs.
The Rams will be graduating many of their point leaders. The Willow Glen seniors this year are Skavdahl, Schroeder, Chunn, Hahn, Evan Bishop, Daniel O'Shaughnessy and Rodriguez.
Still, head coach Todd Meeker anticipates a solid core of players to return next winter with juniors Shawn Rooney, Vernon Wong, Tyler Heinkel, Ricky Huynh and Nico Gomez and 6-foot-4 freshman center Renneke all expected to return.
The Rams finished the regular season 11-3 in the Santa Teresa Division and 19-8 overall.
