Wildcats open the new year with suffocating defense
LOS GATOS >> The Los Gatos boys basketball team turned up the intensity on defense as it allowed the fewest points so far this season in a 63-27 victory over Cupertino on Jan. 7.
In fact, it was the least amount of points scored against the Wildcats since Jan. 25 of last year, when Los Gatos beat Wilcox 56-16.
“You've really got to be locked in defensively (against Cupertino),” Los Gatos coach Nick Ward said. “We knew we wanted to move them bringing the ball up the floor. I thought we did a really good job from the second quarter on, forcing the ball out and trapping the ball at half court.”
Los Gatos had eight steals in the game, including a game-high two by Trenton Splaine.
It was the first game for the Wildcats in the new year, improving their record to 9-4 overall. It was their scheduled Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division game at Gunn on Jan. 4 was postponed due to weather conditions, Ward said. Saturday's match marked nine days since Los Gatos' previous contest, a 66-54 victory over Mountain View on Dec. 29, and Los Gatos' first home game since Dec. 9.
Los Gatos, which started out slow offensively but held Cupertino in check defensively, led 10-2 at the end of the first quarter. Los Gatos' Nolan Koch scored on an inside move and Victor Josifovski followed with a basket for a 14-2 Wildcats advantage just a minute into the second quarter. A layup by Dominick Nguyen gave Los Gatos a 20-9 advantage with less than two minutes left in the first half, and the Wildcats led by double digits the rest of the way in their De Anza Division opener.
The lead grew to 32-14 near the middle of the third quarter and 57-20 with two minutes, 52 seconds left in the game.
Josifovski led a balanced scoring effort by Los Gatos with 10
points and also had a game-high seven rebounds. Max Houghton added nine points, and both Scotty Brennan and Shaun Jafri had eight points. Eleven players scored for Los Gatos in the rout.
“It's always nice to spread the scoring and it's great to get everyone
involved and get into the game because these guys work so hard in practice every day,” Ward said.
Girls basketball
Nicole Steiner poured in 35 points, including very impressive
14 for 17 field-goal shooting, and also grabbed a school-record 26 rebounds in a 66-53 victory for Los Gatos over Homestead on Jan. 3. Steiner, a sophomore, set the program's single-game scoring record of 38 in a victory against Leland last month. The star also had a team-high three blocks against Homestead.
Los Gatos rallied from a 10-point first-quarter deficit in the Wildcats' SCVAL De Anza Division opener. The Wildcats trailed 20-10 in the first quarter, but pulled even by halftime, then outscored the host Mustangs 1911 in the third quarter and 21-16 in the fourth quarter.
Ella Rabitz added eight points for Los Gatos, and teammate Casey Brennan had a team-high seven assists. Claire Galbo added six points and four assists for the Wildcats, who entered this week with an 8-3 overall record and 1-0 De Anza Division mark.
Boys wrestling
Los Gatos' Ethan Parco won his weight division at the prestigious Doc Buchanan Invitational last weekend.
In the 148-pound bracket, Parco defeated Beau Priest of Bakersfield 5-0 in the final. Parco is the reigning Central Coast Section 138-pound champion, and he also placed fifth in the California Interscholastic Federation state championships last year as a sophomore.
Los Gatos' Antonio Rodriguez, a freshman, placed second in the 116-pound division at the Doc Buchanan Invitational. He was edged 7-4 by Gilroy's Moses Mendoza in the final. Rodriguez defeated Dedrick Navarro of Nampa, Idaho 3-0 in the semifinals.
The Wildcats' Dylan Pile, a sophomore, reached the quarterfinals of the 155-pound division.
Boys soccer
Los Gatos went 2-0 last week with a pair of impressive victories.
First, the Wildcats rallied from a 2-1 deficit with 15 minutes remaining to defeat Fremont-sunnyvale 3-2 on Jan. 5. Brady Kamali scored twice in the victory for Los Gatos, while teammate Max Pearman added a goal in the SCVAL El Camino Division game.
On Saturday, Los Gatos defeated Soquel 2-1 in a nonleague match. Kamali and Drew Dillehay scored for Los Gatos. The Wildcats entered this week with a 4-3-1 overall record and 1-1 El Camino Division mark.
Girls soccer
Los Gatos blanked Fremontsunnyvale 3-0 on Jan. 5 to improve to 4-2-2 overall and 1-0-1 in SCVAL El Camino Division action entering this week.
Sam Elliott scored two secondhalf goals in the victory. Caitlyn Simons scored the first goal of the game in the first half. Goalkeeper Emily Duvall produced a shutout in the win.
The Wildcats are scheduled to host San Mateo on Saturday at 3 p.m.