Late Rallies Lift SHP, Gunn Boys to CCS Hoops Wins

By Rick Eymer/Palo Alto Online Sports
Sacred Heart Prep 77, San Lorenzo Valley 68
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Sacred Heart Prep needed overtime. Gunn needed a big fourth quarter. Both teams took advantage of their opportunities to reach the quarterfinal round of their respective Central Coast Section Divisions, the Gators in Division IV and the Titans in Division II.

In all, seven local boys teams will be appearing in six games Saturday, five of them from the West Bay Athletic League and two from the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Sacred Heart Prep, seeded ninth, beat host San Lorenzo Valley, 77-68, to reach the quarterfinal round. The Gators (12-13) play top-seeded Half Moon Bay (19-7) on Saturday at Hartnell College-Salinas at 6:15 p.m.

Third-seeded Menlo School (16-7) plays No. 6 Carmel, also at Hartnell, at 4:30 p.m.

Eric DeBrine, who finished with a game-high 25 points, hit a 3-pointer to give Sacred Heart Prep a 63-60 edge with about 45 seconds left in regulation but the Cougars tied it and had a chance at the buzzer.

Seniors Tevin Panchal and Kyle Stalder took over in the extra period, scoring seven of his 21 points in the period to lift the Gators.

"It was nice to see the only two seniors that we have, play like they did not want their high school careers to end," Sacred Heart Prep coach Tony Martinelli said.

Panchal hit a big 3-pointer, finished a layup in traffic and made both of his fouls shots. Stalder, who added 13 points, was a beast on defense and dominated the boards in overtime. He recorded a key steal; and got an assist on Panchal's 3-pointer.

Against its next set of Cougars, Sacred Heart Prep may remember (and Stalder certainly remembers) that Half Moon Bay knocked the Gators out of the CCS football playoffs in the fall.

The 12th-seeded Titans (14-11) traveled to Daly City to take on No. 5 Westmoor and needed a big fourth-quarter to earn a 56-53 win over the Rams.

Gunn outscored Westmoor, 22-14, in the final period. Jeffrey Lee-Heidenreich recorded a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds to drive the Titans. Tim Sun added 16 points.

Gunn meets No. 4 Santa Clara, which finished third in the SCVAL El Camino Division. The Bruins beat Westmoor, 53-51, at home during the Christmas break.

Santa Clara and Gunn have four common opponents in Westmoor, Hillsdale, Saratoga and Lynbrook. The Titans lost only to the Falcons, while Santa Clara split a pair of league games against both Lynbrook and Saratoga. The Bruins lost to Hillsdale by 15.

Jagos Jovanovic leads Santa Clara, averaging a double-double with 14.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
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Sacred Heart Schools Atherton

Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton

150 Valparaiso Ave
Atherton, CA 94027
650 322 1866
Founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, SHS is a Catholic, independent, co-ed day school for students in preschool through grade 12