In the first round of the Central Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 3 tournament playoffs, the Palo Alto Vikings (23-5) defeated the Foothill Cougars (22-8), 61-51, at home.
According to Viking senior Jai Wadhwani, the team’s great performance is due to the Vikings’ vigor.
“Our energy was really good,” Wadhwani said. “We were really together after our loss in the CCS finals… but we brought it today, and that’s what helped us.”
The Vikings had a fiery start with Wadhwani putting up back-to-back layups, but the Cougars quickly responded with seniors Cade Memeo and Trace Farrelly both scoring from the perimeter. As the first quarter continued, the Vikings pressured well on defense, forcing bad passes from the Cougars and securing an early 20-11 lead.
Viking head coach Jeff LaMere said the Vikings played well.
“I thought Jorell [Viking senior Jorell Clark] played really well,” LaMere said. ” I thought Jake Wang’s rebounding, and Jai gave us a good shot in the arm at the start with his three buckets. We’re playing pretty well, but it’s going to come down to defense and taking care of the ball.”
The second quarter displayed lights-out defense from the Vikings, who disrupted multiple drives made by Memeo and Cougar junior Matt Poulsen. Memeo and Clark both began taking turns carving through defenses and scoring layups. Viking senior Hudson Mar ended the quarter by scoring a three-pointer, extending the Vikings’ lead to 39-23.
According to LaMere, the Vikings focused on making sure their defense was impenetrable.
“For us, it’s trying to force a team to play against our half-court defense, and we feel like we have a good chance to win games when that happens, but if games start getting up and down, it makes it a little more difficult for us,” LaMere said.
The Cougars entered the second half with a lot of energy. Memeo scored an and-one, followed by two consecutive layups. The Vikings struggled to defend against the Cougars’ drives, allowing them to close the gap to within 10 points. However, the Vikings managed to block multiple shots from the Cougars, which Mar and Wadhwani were able to convert with layups.
According to Cougar head coach John Carter, the Cougars’ change in strategy worked well.
“In the first half we had a really hard time defending the speed of you guys [Vikings], and we made a switch in the second half to go zone,” Carter said. “I felt like that allowed us to kind of claw back into the game.”
In the fourth quarter, Poulsen and Memeo continued to drive down the field and score before the Vikings could make it back on defense. With 5 minutes left in the game, the fire alarm went off, which temporarily halted the game at 57-47. When the game resumed, both sides struggled to break past the opponent’s defense, ending the game 59-50 for the Vikings.
According to Memeo, the Cougars competed with intensity.
“We came out with good confidence,” Memeo said. “We went to the hoop strongly. It was just that they were a better team. We got to work on what we need to do and we’ll see what happens.”
According to Carter, the Cougars used film from past games to formulate their game plan.
“We started watching some tape and we saw how good Jorell was,” Carter said. “Our main game plan going into the game was shutting down Jorrell, but you got to give credit to the other guys who stepped up and made big shots.”
The Vikings did the same using film to gain a better understanding of their opponents, said Viking senior Nicholas Feitzinger.
“We kind of analyzed each player and their tendencies, and we looked at how the team plays together, and we tried to prepare for that, so we could know every move before they made it,” Feitzinger said.
Wadhwani said he is looking forward to making a deep run in the playoffs
“I’m looking forward to just continuing this run, seeing how far we can go,” Wadhwani said. “It’s exciting. If we lose we’re out, so it’s a fun time.”
The Vikings are set to play round two of CIF against the Enterprise High School Hornets 7 p.m. Thursday at home. The Hornets recently defeated third place seed, the Christopher High School Cougars, 46-40.
