Paly’s second victory this season against cross-town rival Gunn High School proved similar to the first, as the boys’ basketball team (7-1, 14-6) pulled ahead in the second half to win 52-38 in an away game on Friday, Feb. 5.
It was a slow start with few points from either team, and the Titans appeared to be leading at half-time, 19-18. However, the referees called a foul less than a second before the clock ran out, allowing the Vikings to pick up two points from free throws.
Intensity picked up in the second half, with the Vikings gaining momentum as the Titans appeared to lose energy. According to Paly head coach Bob Roehl, team members pushed each other to step up their effort and consistency.
“Actually, I didn’t tell them much [at the half time],” Roehl said. “They told each other. They’re taking more control of the team.”
The players agree that certain players took charge to improve the team’s morale.
“Certain people stepped it up,” junior Davante Adams said. “Max [Schmarzo] said a lot, and so did Brendan [Rider]. Both said inspirational stuff, so the coaches didn’t have to say much.”
Roehl especially noted the performance of junior Max Schmarzo, who led the team in scoring with 17 points.
“Max has stepped up more than anyone else,” Roehl said. “Everyone knows he’s a great shooter, but he’s also good with defense. He’s been consistent.”
Other leading scorers included seniors Rider, with 12 points, and Joseph Lin, with nine points.
Nonetheless, Roehl was frustrated with the team’s slow start, as he felt that the players did not show their full potential.
“This [inconsistency] has been a problem since day one, and we haven’t fixed it,” Rohel said. “We just go up and down. We’re far from being the team that we should be.”
Rider agreed that the team needs to work on this mental aspect of the game, which it managed to master after half-time.
“We just talked about settling down and playing to our potential to fire ourselves up,” Rider said. “This is a problem we’ve been consistently having. We need to focus.”
In addition to its mindset, the team also changed its defensive tactic in the second half.
“We went from zone in the first half to a man-to-man setup,” Rider said. “We put more pressure because we needed to adjust. Coach felt it was a proper adjustment.”
The Gunn team felt the increased energy from the Vikings, even as Gunn players noted their team’s energy lag.
“We played hard, but then ran out of gas in the third quarter,” Gunn senior Travis Bowers said. “They [the Vikings] all played well,” he added. Bowers led the Titans with 16 points.
The varsity boys will play again at 7 p.m. next Wednesday, Feb. 10, against Los Altos High School at home.