After going 3-0 in the first three games of the Maui Christmas Classic over winter brake,
the Palo Alto basketball team beat Marin Catholic 63-69 in the championship game on Dec. 21 in Maui, Hawaii. Palo Alto gained a 14-5 lead in the first quarter and expanded the lead to 33-18 at halftime. At the end of three quarters the score was 49-30. Ultimately, the Vikings won the championship, 63 – 39.

“No doubt about it, we saved our best game for last,’’ Paly head coach Peter Diepenbrock told Maui News reporter Robert Collias.

Viking forward, senior Brian Baskauskas led the scoring with 22 points, while senior forward Greg Walder added 10. Baskauskas earned the “Most Valuable Player” award for the tournament, and joined Paly junior guard Jeremy Lin on the All-Tournament team.

The Maui Christmas Classic has become an attractive tournament for high school teams, according to tournament director Sky Nelson. “I’ve got about 100 teams that want to come next year” Nelson said.

The Palo Alto team headed for Maui, on Dec. 16, looking for its third tournament title of the 2004-2005 season. After winning the Sacred Heart and Half Moon Bay tournaments, the Vikings went to Maui with a 7-0 record.

The Maui Christmas Classic took place at the Lahaina Civic Center, just off the Pacific Ocean in Lahaina. In total 16, teams took part in the tournament, 14 which came from the mainland, as far east as South Carolina.

Aston Kaanapali Shores, a r resort, with two pools and hot tubs, housed the team, as well as many other teams participating in the Christmas Classic.

The Vikings first game was against San Marcos High School. Palo Alto started out strong with a 19-9 lead over San Marcos in the first quarter; and extended the lead to 33-13 by halftime. During the second half both teams played equally well. Junior forward Cooper Miller led Palo Alto with 15 points and junior forward Steven Brown added 10. Palo Alto won its first game in the Maui Christmas Classic 60-40.

The second game came on Saturday with the Vikings playing North Hollywood High School. Baskauskas led all scorers with 17 points, Lin contributed 15 and Miller had 10. Palo Alto outscored North Hollywood 24-4 in the third quarter to take a commanding lead. The leading scorer for North Hollywood only had 10 points. The final score was a Viking victory 54-28. This allowed Palo Alto to move on to the semifinals against Galena High School from Nevada.

On Sunday the team had a day to relax and enjoy Maui. The team got on a Catamaran to go snorkeling by Molokini, a volcano vent off the coast of Maui, which is now a Bird Preserve above sea level and a Marine Preserve below. After the five-hour snorkeling trip, the team returned to land for some Christmas shopping at the Whalers Village, just a few minutes away from the resort.

On Monday the Semifinal was against Galena High School from Reno, Nevada. Galena was no stranger to Diepenbrock. Two years ago, both these team’s were a part of, but never played each other in, the 25th Annual Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic.

The semifinal was a close one, tied at the end of the third quarter. Galena’s Derek LorenZen was only a freshman during the Las Vegas tournament, and now a senior he contributed 17 points to the Grizzlies. Walder had 12 points and senior guard Nathan Ford had 11. The Vikings pulled out another victory, 51-45, moving them on to the finals against Marin Catholic.

“We’d love to come back,’’ Diepenbrock said. “To come out on top of 16 teams from who knows where says a lot about our group. This is a great tournament.’’

Diepenbrock said his players would not mind repeating the fund-raising chores they did this year to raise about $1,000 apiece for the trip.

The Vikings left Maui on Dec. 22, as the native Hawaiians wished them a Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas).