With one member of the big three out with an injury, senior center Dom Powell and sophomore forward Kevin Brown had to play sensational basketball to fill the void left by senior guard Mike Scott.
Not having the outside shooting touch or slashing drives that Scott normally provides, head coach Peter Diepenbrock decided early on that he would pound the ball inside to his pair of 6-6 giants. And from the looks of Paly’s 53-39 victory, his strategy worked.
“Having Mike out made it a lot harder. When we have Mike, we’re a team that is difficult to press and very difficult to defend,” Diepenbrock said. “Tonight, we just took advantage of Kevin and Dom around the basket.”
The assists poured in for starting guards junior Nick Robinson and freshman Joseph Lin as Brown and Powell made quick work of the smaller Milpitas players, who were consistently out-muscled, out-jumped, and out-run. Robinson had a complete game with nine points, seven assists, four steals, and four rebounds in addition to going five for six from the free-throw line. Lin finished with seven points and five assists, while also making four of five free-throws.
“With Mike out, there was some pressure on Nick, Joseph and Brendon [Rider],” Diepenbrock said. “I thought they handled it well and didn’t turn the ball over.”
The Vikings jumped out to an early 9-0 lead on buckets from Lin, Robinson, and Powell in one of four runs they made where Paly scored six or unanswered points. Milpitas earned its first basket on a three-pointer and would eventually be 3-for-11 from the field in the first quarter.
Powell made his first three shots and led the team with 16 points on six of nine shooting, but missed seven free throws, going 4-for-11. He also added 12 rebounds, five offensive, and two blocked shots for good measure. Brown followed the senior’s lead and finished with 15 points, seven from the line, and 10 rebounds. With Powell and Brown working around the basket, the Vikings shot a season high 37 free throws, making 24 of them.
“We just put the ball into the paint and worked around the rim,” Diepenbrock said. “Because of that, we shot a lot of free throws.”
Senior Jordan Jefferson added four points and six rebounds, while Ed Hall added two free throws, bringing Paly’s total to 53. Paly played excellent defense, holding Milpitas to 11-of-29 shooting.
Paly’s next game is away on Jan. 16 at divisional rival Los Gatos. After beating Saratoga to open the regular season, the Wildcats have lost two straight and are looking to end their losing streak against the Vikings.