Wildcats cool as ice as race atop De Anza standings heats up
LOS GATOS >> The Los Gatos boys basketball team broke open a close game against Gunn last week with a display of ice in its veins at the end.
On Jan. 25, the Wildcats converted 13-of-17 attempts from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to seal a 60-49 triumph on their home floor.
“Through and through, the guys played really tough,” Los Gatos coach Nick Ward said.
It was the seventh victory over the past eight games entering this week to improve the team's record to 14-5 overall.
The Wildcats trailed only Palo Alto in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division standings, with both front-runners scheduled to play each other this past Wednesday. (The game occurred after this article went to press.) Los Gatos hosts Los Altos tonight at 7.
The Wildcats held a slim 41-39 lead seconds into the fourth quarter against Gunn. But after Osha Moloney drove for an “andone” basket — then nailed the free throw — Los Gatos went on a pivotal 11-2 run. The Wildcats were 7-of-9 from the line in that surge, and led by at least eight points the rest of the game.
Los Gatos sophomore Scotty Brennan was particularly sharp from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, sinking five of his six attempts and finishing with 11 points in the game. The 6-foot-3 Brennan also had eight rebounds. Nolan Koch led the Wildcats in scoring with 13 points, and Victor Josifovski added 10 points.
Gunn's Ethan Kitch was lethal from beyond the arc, sinking six 3-pointers for a
game-high 22 points. But he was held to only a single 3-pointer over the final eight minutes.
Los Gatos controlled the paint defensively, as Tommy Ankenbrandt and Koch combined for five blocked shots.
“They're really, really good shooters,” said Ward about Gunn, which fell to 11-6 overall and 1-6 in De Anza play with the loss. “The further out we push them, the odds of them missing go up.”
Before Los Gatos' fourthquarter surge, the game was close. The Wildcats led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, and although they held an eight-point lead midway through the second quarter, Gunn rallied to end the half
to trail by just two points.
Football
Five Los Gatos seniors were selected to compete for the North team in Saturday's Charlie Wedemeyer All-star Game at Los Gatos.
Emiliano Mejia, Landon Heard, Jake Boyd, Will Cohen and Nic Ramos are the Los Gatos all-stars. The game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
Game tickets are available online at santaclaraallstar. com. Complete rosters can also be found at that site.
Mejia, the Peninsula Athletic LEAGUE/SCVAL De Anza Division Offensive Player of the Year last season, rushed for 1,145 yards and 18 touchdowns in 11 games. He had an 8.9 yards-per-carry average,
and he also caught 14 passes for 153 yards.
Boyd quarterbacked the Wildcats to a perfect 5-0 SCVAL De Anza Division record, throwing for 1,456 yards, 13 touchdowns and only one interception as Los Gatos finished 8-3 overall. The first-team all-pal/ SCVAL De Anza Division player completed 60.6 percent of his passes.
Heard, the PAL/SCVAL De Anza Division Defensive Back of the Year, recorded five interceptions during the fall. He also had 77 total tackles, including 17 solo.
Ramos, the PAL/SCVAL De Anza Division Defensive Lineman of the Year, produced five sacks, 33 hurries and 10 tackles for loss last season. He also had 75 total tackles, including 22 solo.
Cohen was a first-team ALL-PAL/SCVAL De Anza Division offensive lineman.
Leigh's Roman Nicoletta will also be playing for the North squad. He was named the Most Outstanding Linebacker in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa
Teresa-valley Division last season.
Girls basketball
Los Gatos held Homestead scoreless for the last six minutes of the second quarter on its way to a 5333 victory on Jan. 24.
Ashley Childers paced Los Gatos in scoring with 17 points, and Nicole Steiner added 13 points for the Wildcats. Claire Galbo and Casey Brennan both grabbed a team-high six rebounds for Los Gatos, and Galbo added a team-high four assists. Both Brennan and Steiner had two steals in the victory, and Steiner and Hanna Behnami added two blocks apiece.
Los Gatos entered this week with a 15-3 overall record and 7-0 SCVAL De Anza Division mark.
Boys soccer
Los Gatos remained one point behind SCVAL El Camino Division leader Fremont after a 1-1 tie between the two teams on Jan. 26.
The Wildcats' Brady Kamali
tied the score in the first half for the final goal of the game. Los Gatos entered this week with a 7-3-3 overall record and a 4-1-2 El Camino Division mark.
Girls soccer
Los Gatos blanked a pair of SCVAL El Camino Division opponents last week to take first place in the standings entering this week with a 7-0-1 record.
The Wildcats defeated visiting Fremont-sunnyvale 4-0 on Jan. 26. Brynn Gibson found the back of the net twice, with Piper Armstrong and Malia Yamamoto adding one goal apiece.
Two days later, Los Gatos overwhelmed visiting Cupertino 8-0. Sam Elliott paced the Wildcats offensively with a hat trick, Sahara Melinauskas added a pair, while Teagan Conklin, Reed Ankaitis and Gibson each tallied one goal.
Los Gatos, which enters this week with a 10-3-2 overall record, dropped a 1-0 nonleague match to Westmont on Jan. 24.