The Palo Alto varsity basketball Vikings improved their record to 7-0 after crushing Woodside, (3-4) 58-38.
The Vikings were heavily favored in this non-league match-up, but head coach Peter Diepenbrock knew that Woodside would not go down quietly.
“They [Woodside] are a very impressive and very physical team,” Diepenbrock said.
Despite shooting 41 percent for the game including only 2 of 10 from beyond the arc, the Vikings pulled out a win with a smothering defense and excellent rebounding. The Vikings forced turnovers and took offensive fouls that helped cool the streaky Wildcats. Paly had 11 steals and 40 rebounds, 18 of which were offensive. Those rebounds translated into more opportunities for the Vikings.
The Vikings received a surprising boost with a stellar performance from senior forward Kheaton Scott. Scott shot 7 of 8 for 14 points, added nine rebounds and brought intensity to a team that needed some motivation in the early going. His electric plays energized both his teammates and the crowd.
The crowd was small, but the devoted fans cheered their team on, even heckling their opponents. The crowd even managed to get the two cheerleaders to start the “color shout” chant in the third quarter.
Scott, who played minimal time last year, felt he needed to make a statement early.
“I wanted to prove my worth, because I hadn’t played a lot last year,” Scott said.
Diepenbrock especially was impressed with Scott’s performance.
“[Scott] was everywhere,” said Diepenbrock. “He kept us afloat.”
The Vikings got a wake up call from the determined Woodside after the Wildcats started the game on a, 9-2, run. The Vikings then answered with a, 10-2, run of their own culminating with a three-pointer from senior forward Kevin Trimble with less than 10 seconds left in the quarter.
After regaining the lead, the Vikings never looked back. They padded their lead by outscoring the Wildcats, 16-10, in the second quarter, with Scott finishing an alley-oop lay-up with one second left.
Thanks to their six seniors, who played almost the entire game, the Vikings finished the third quarter with a 15 point lead, 44-29. Even with the Vikings opting to play their bench in the fourth quarter, the lead was increased to 20 by the game’s end.
Forward Steven Brown lead all Vikings with 15 points and added eight rebounds. Senior guard Jeremy Lin posted 11 points along with eight rebounds and 10 assists. Seniors Brad Lehman and Cooper Miller added six and seven points respectively
Diepenbrock relied on a rotation of his six seniors and junior guard Adam Wandell, but even after playing most of the game, the players did not appear winded at all, which Diepenbrock attributes to the preseason conditioning.
The Vikings previously won both the James Lick and the Santa Cruz Dad’s tournaments. The semifinals and finals of the Santa Cruz tournaments were won by a combined margin of victory of three points. With many players returning from football, Diepenbrock was amazed at the results.
“We have good players,” Diepenbrock said. “The coaches haven’t had much time to do anything so it’s a testament to their [the players] skill.”
The Vikings are undefeated and are ranked fourth in the Bay Area, according to the San Francisco Chronicle on Dec. 13. The Vikings will play in two more tournaments before they open league play at 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 6 at home against Homestead
The Palo Alto junior varsity team also won their game against Woodside by the same margin. Sophomore forward Will Goodspeed led the team with 14 points as the JV Vikings destroyed the JV Wildcats, 60-40.