Coming off an emotional win over cross-town rival Gunn, the varsity boys basketball team entered tonight’s game against Fremont on a 15-game winning streak and needing one more win to outright clinch the league title.

Head coach Peter Diepenbrock, with his team having clinched the league title early last year as well, knew this game was important.

“We want to keep playing at a high level and we want a high [CCS] ranking,” Diepenbrock said. “It’ll be a challenge coming off the emotional win at Gunn.”

For the first six minutes, both teams played sloppy, having combined for almost as many fouls, 11, and turnovers, 10, as points, 11. The Vikings appeared lethargic while the Firebirds played with passion and determination. With two and a half minutes left in the first quarter, the Firebirds made two quick shots to cut the lead to 6-5, but that marked the end of the Firebirds’ success.

For the next 17 minutes, the Firebirds committed more turnovers than shots attempted. Of those 14 shots attempts, none went in, and the Firebirds scored only three points off free throws. Meanwhile, during that same stretch, the Vikings shot over 55 percent, scoring an astonishing 47 points.

In the last two minutes of the first quarter, the Vikings scored 10 points and by quarter’s end, senior forward Kheaton Scott had outscored the entire Firebird team, 7-5. By the end of the half, the Vikings had shot only 10-21, but 11-14 from the free-throw to give them 33 points.

Fremont’s offense constantly ran the shot clock down to under 10 seconds, not because their offense was designed that way, but because the Viking defense would not allow a shot. The Firebirds were overwhelmed by the Viking defense and before long, they fell apart. The Firebirds attempted only eight shots in the half scoring only eight points. In that same half, senior forward Cooper Miller also scored eight points.

If eight points were not bad enough, the Firebirds committed nine fouls and turned the ball over 15 times. The Vikings had nine steals in the half and made more field goals than the Firebirds even attempted.
The third quarter was no better for Fremont. The Firebirds shot 2-11 while the Vikings shot 7-10. With over still two minutes left in the third quarter, Diepenbrock pulled his starters. Fremont responded by finishing the quarter on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 37. The Vikings had at one point led 53-8, and by game’s end, Paly had exactly tripled Fremont’s score, 60-20.

The Firebirds shot an abysmal 5-27, committing 14 fouls and 25 turnovers. The Vikings shot 19-34 including an impressive 14-20 from the free-throw line. The Vikings at one point had four players who were individually outscoring the entire Fremont team. The stats go on and on, but for anyone watching the game, it did not long to see the overwhelming mismatch.

Currently ranked last place in the De Anza division, the Firebirds could drop down to the El Camino division next year if they stay in last.

The Vikings receive a huge contribution from junior guard Adam Wandell, who led all scorers with 14 points. Coming off the bench, he did not miss a shot. Wandell had missed the last few games on a trip to Washington, D.C., with the National Youth Leadership Forum for Law.

“I had to prove that I still had some value on this team,” Wandell said. “I knew I had to play big.”

Wandell entered when star senior guard Jeremy Lin exited the game with three early fouls.

“When Jeremy went out, I had to step up.” Wandell said. “Playing in the second quarter really gave me a feel for the game.”

Lin did not score in the first half, but finished with 11 points, six assists, and six of the Vikings’ 18 steals. Seniors Steven Brown and Brad Lehman added nine and seven points respectively. Miller finished with 10 points and five assists. Scott missed only one shot scoring 10 points as well.

Looking ahead, the seniors play their final regular season home game on Friday.

“I’m making no predictions. I’m going to let it happen,” Lin said. “But it should be a great night.”

The Vikings will host Mountain View (9-15, 2-8) at 7:45 p.m. on Friday in the big gym. The final game of the regular season will be senior night, and the Vikings will then head to CCS playoffs where their opponent had yet to be decided.