With 16.8 seconds left in overtime, trailing by two points, Paly junior small forward Brian Baskauskas hit a NBA range three-pointer to give his team a one-point lead.
North Salinas hurried the ball down the court and put up a prayer that bounced off the rim into the hands of Salinas’ junior center Eric Petty, who turned around and put in the game winner with 2 seconds left. This loss in the CCS quarter finals on Saturday is how the season ended for the Paly Varsity boys’ basketball team.

After winning the CCS championship last year, this 53-52 loss in the quarter finals was quite a blow to the Paly Vikings. A lack of defensive presence and an inability to stop North Salinas’s center Petty, who led all scorers with 22 points, is what put Paly in the position of losing this game.

The Vikings felt confident going into t his game after a fairly easy 58-45 first round win over the Santa Clara Bruins Wednesday at Paly. The first quarter of that game slightly resembled the two teams’ meeting earlier this season, due to an abundance of three-pointers. The Vikings drained the first three-pointer courtesy of Baskauskas, but this was answered right away by a three pointer from Bruins’ senior shooting guard Brian Ngo. The Bruins then turned to junior small forward Pedro Medina on the ensuing possession, who stuck the three ball. Paly sophomore point guard Jeremy Lin struck next with a three of his own but the bruins got the last trey from Medina.

This continued throughout the rest of the game, with both teams combining for twelve three-pointers. In the end the Vikings were too much for the Bruins who collapsed after Baskauskas hit a three pointer midway through the fourth quarter, giving his team an eleven point lead.

However, the Vikings did not carry this dominance into Saturday’s quarter final contest. The first quarter was very slow, with both teams missing shots and making foolish turnovers. Paly came out on top with a 13-10 lead going into the second quarter.

North Salinas matched every point Paly made in the second, behind junior power forward Marco Ramos’s strong performance of 6 points in the second quarter. "I made a few shots but I knew we had to step it up if we wanted to beat these guys [Paly]," Ramos said.

Starting the second half with a three point lead, the Vikings looked for senior center Oystein Aukland to give them a boost. Aukland gave them as much as he could, battling his way in the post for 7 points in the third quarter.

The crowd really got into the game in the fourth quarter after Salinas’ senior point guard Merben Woo threw an alleyoop to Petty who finished it with a layup. Baskauskas silenced the North Salinas crowd with a three ball. This was followed by a three-pointer from Lin on Paly’s ensuing possession.

Both teams battled it out the rest of the fourth quarter, but the game eventually came down to free throws. With 12.6 seconds left in regulation, Baskauskas was fouled and rewarded two free throws, which he drained. Woo dribbled down the court frantically looking for an open man, he found Ramos who went up strong and drew the foul. Ramos hit both free throws with ease, prompting the overtime period.

The four minutes of overtime were a battle between Petty and Baskauskas. Petty hit first with a turn around bucket in the paint giving his team a two point advantage. Baskauskas answered with a pull up jumper for two with 1:23 remaining in overtime. Petty replied 23 seconds later with another two points. With time winding down and his team losing by two points, Baskauskas struck gold with a long range three ball. With only 16 seconds left, North Salinas hurried the ball down and missed a 15 foot jumper, but Petty was there to pick up the trash and put in the bucket, sealing the deal for his team.

"It took us way to long to adjust to their style of play; they play a completely different game than we are used to playing," Baskauskas said.

North Salinas will face Mitty in the Division II Semi-Finals while Paly will have to wait until next year for another chance at a CCS championship.

"We have five key guys returning next year, we will definitely have a lot of size and skill," sophomore power forward Cooper Miller said.