In a fierce back -and- forth game, the Palo Alto High School Vikings (11-2) snagged a victory from their rivals, the Gunn Titans (5-7), winning 63-50 Saturday night at Gunn High School.
According to Viking assistant coach Jim Bitler, the team emphasized playing together in order to achieve victory.
“Gunn brings it every year against us, so we had to come in here together as a unit and try to come up with a win,” Bitler said. “And that’s what we did tonight… we wanted to play well and compete as a team, that’s always our expectation coming in: play to our standards and whatever happens, happens.”
The game started off with a fast break from Viking senior Jorell Clark bringing the score to 2-0 and setting the tone for the rest of the match. However, the Vikings’ momentum was quickly stopped when they went on the defensive. After gaining possession of the ball the Titans drove through the Vikings’ defense scoring a string of points and gaining an early lead.
As the Titans continued to drive through Paly’s defense, a block by Viking senior Jai Wadhwani followed by a fast break from Viking senior Gavin Haase brought the score to 10-12. Riding the momentum, a three-pointer from Viking senior Hudson Mar evened out the score 13-13. With seconds left in the first quarter, Titan sophomore Issac Fredrikson shot past the Vikings giving Gunn the lead 13-15.
The second quarter began with the Titans and Vikings scoring neck to neck, with Haase breaking the trend with a 3-pointer, making the score 20-17. Building off their boost in energy, Clark made an impressive dunk causing the crowd to go wild. The dunk further extended the Vikings’ lead with the score standing at 26-21.
The gym was full of cheers, and according to Hudson, it was the energy they needed to stay motivated.
“Jorell’s dunk was definitely a huge moment, and it gave us a huge lift,” Hudson said.
Throughout the second quarter, the Titans started having trouble getting past the Vikings’ defense. After multiple misses and seconds left in the quarter, Titan senior Owen Dahl blocked the Vikings’ push and passed the ball to Fredrickson, who missed. The Titans tried again, with Titan junior Rylan See making it in the basket and shortening the distance between the Vikings to 28-25.
The third quarter proceeded with the Vikings still maintaining their lead. With Clark scoring back-to-back and the Titans unable to make a successful play the Vikings were on a roll.
According to Hudson, their success stemmed from their solid defense.
“We did a great job defensively in the second half, we kind of struggled with that in the first half, letting people drive by,” said Hudson.
After several fouls and a pass from Clark to Mar, the quarter ended 42-36.
The Vikings kept chugging forward with their lead going into the fourth quarter. With both Mar and Haase making 3-pointers, the game ended in a Viking win 63-50.
According to Wang, the game only remained close because of several factors.
“We let them make some shots that were up early, and we didn’t play defense without fouling,” Wang said. “We gave them a lot of free-throws and that’s kind of how they stayed in the game.”
With the Titans winning the last time the teams played back in February, the close scores made for an entertaining game, said Viking junior Kacey Washington.
“They [Titans] brought probably the best game they’ve played all year. We matched that intensity,” Washington said. “Our fans definitely helped us, they brought that energy as well.”
Wang said despite the tough opponents the victory was predicted.
“We know that they have a lot of talent suppliers, but so do we,” Wang said. “We expected to win, and we came in here and won, so I’m happy with that.”
According to Titan assistant coach Sky Runser, despite the loss, both teams did an incredible job, and the Titans are eager for a rematch.
“I’m pleased that we had such a great crowd, great teams, great coaches for both schools, and it was a really great night,” Runser said. “The only thing missing for us would be the win, but we get to play each other twice, so we’re looking forward to that.”
The Palo Alto Vikings are set to play their next game against the Milpitas Trojans (13-2) 7 p.m. Wednesday at Palo Alto High School.
