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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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Boys' basketball heads to CCS final

The varsity boys’ basketball team will advance to the Division II CCS championship for the third time in 14 years after defeating Woodside 58-45 Wednesday in the semifinals. The No. 1-ranked Vikings will face No. 6 Aragon 8 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at the Leavey Center at Santa Clara University.

Paly’s phenomenal defense will have to prove itself against Aragon’s quick-tempoed attack. “They are a very, very good offesive…fast-breaking team,” Paly coach Peter Diepenbrock said. “We’re really going to need to play a very good defensive game.”

Senior forward Ryan Symes also said Aragon’s light feet and good defense contribute to their overall threat. He added, “They can shoot really well; they will shoot a lot of threes.”

Though Symes said, “They are pretty small,” their height doesn’t affect their ability to battle the big guys under the basket. “They get a lot of rebounds,” Symes said.

Paly’s overall decisive 58-45 win against Woodside has boosted self-assurance going into the final. “It definitely has built our confidence and momentum,” Symes said. “We’re pretty excited.”

The Viking’s outstanding defense secured Paly’s victory over Woodside, which was also a key factor in the Viking’s shocking 61-39 quarter final defeat of St. Francis.

Paly players created a barrier between opposition and the basket by simply being disciplined and moving their feet, generating few fouls against themselves. In addition to the wall Paly’s aggressive defense formed around the three-point line, players like Symes and senior Nick Karvelas smothered any shot attempts under the basket or around the key by standing straight with arms stretched up. Big Woodside players, such as gargantuan No. 34, were constantly called for traveling and packed without producing any fouls out of Paly.

Diepenbrock was pleased with his team’s performance. “I thought we played very, very well as a team. We had significant contributions from everyone who played,” Diepenbrock said. He continued that Paly’s “individual defense combined with…team defense” won the game for them, and added, “We played by far our best game offensively in our passing game.”

Symes, who lead Paly with 15 points, credited players such as senior Kevin White, with 14 points, and sophomore Brian Baskauskas, with 11 points, for their key play Wednesday. Senior John Picazo, scoring five points, fueled Paly’s defensive energy by surprising Woodside players with athleticism and heart, making many diving steals and forcing multiple turnovers. Indefatigable perseverance from Karvelas on defense was crucial to Paly’s success.

Coming out with fiery intensity, Paly started with a 12-8 lead after the first quarter, and gained significant separation in the second quarter, leaving Woodside trailing by 12 at 27-15 at half time. Paly only gained more confidence in the third quarter when they paralyzed Woodside’s score at 15, while thinning their hopes from a 12 point game to a 19 point game when the score reached 34-15 with 5:12 left in the third quarter. The game was pretty much over for both teams.

However, after Paly’s gap between Woodside peaked at 38-18 before a time out with 2:48 left in the third, Woodside’s full court press would start to stunt Paly’s domination. Although Paly was usually successful in breaking their full court press, Woodside forced a few bad passes and was able to get steals, allowing them to start catching up.

“I was frustrated that we could not handle their full-court pressure better,” Diepenbrock said.

Diepenbrock’s frustration was evident from his constant yelling on the sideline as Paly started losing composure when they began to foul and fumble with the ball.

But Paly didn’t truly start biting their nails until the fourth quarter. Ending the third quarter with close to a 20 point lead, Woodside came within ten of Paly’s 47 points with 37 points with 3:54 left in the game. Hope flickered on the Woodside bench and the coaches finally stood up again after sitting long and quiet with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter.

However, although they closed the gap to seven points with 1:16, at this point Woodside’s only chance for a win was to foul, causing Paly’s last 11 points to be from the free throw line. The game ended with the Vikings leading 58-45, but Paly’s anxiousness was already subdued and Woodside was well aware a win was not an option: although Paly let them get nearer than expected, the Vikings were still able to hold them off consistently.

“Even though Woodside could get closer, the bottom line is the boys made plays when they needed to to get a win,” Diepenbrock said.

From this game, Paly has gained some things to practice leading up to the final. “We need to work on our ball handling against full court pressure,” Diepenbrock said.

Although aware of the challenge they will face Saturday, the boys feel secure coming into the final. “I think we’re pretty confident,” senior guard Kevin White said. “If we play our game we’ll come out with a win.”

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