Boys basketball ends season with CCS loss to Palo Alto High School

The 6th ranked Eagles lost the Division II quarterfinals game of CCS against the 3rd ranked Palo Alto High School Vikings 58-46 today, Saturday, February 28. The loss ended the team’s season.

To begin, the Vikings raced to a 12-6 lead midway through the quarter. They then clamped down on defense and gathered several offensive rebounds, raising the lead to 19-6 by the end of the quarter.

The teams traded basket to start the second, but then began to share turnovers and missed shots instead. The Eagles called a timeout after a Palo Alto three-pointer in hopes of calming the team down and stopping the turnovers, but it only served to energize the Vikings.

The Vikings shooting guard followed with back-to-back threes, followed by another Viking layup that forced to the Eagles to call another timeout as the lead had swelled to 31-8.

The results after this timeout were the same. The Vikings unleashed another run, capped by a monster dunk with 45 seconds left that made the score 35-9.

“Defense was an issue,” sophomore Simon Rosenbaum said. “We just weren’t stopping them we didn’t get back in transition. They were taking really high percentage shots.”

In the final seconds of the half, the Eagles scored twice, including a tough basket and foul by senior Nick Schaefer, but they still entered halftime with the score 37-13.

“In the first half we pretty much put ourselves out of the game,” captain senior Sean Wells said. “Most of that is just nerves. … In the first half of both [CCS] games we really shot poorly. … Even though you try to tell yourself it’s just another game, it’s a CCS one and it puts pressure on.”

The Eagles began the third quarter with a rejuvenated defense. After allowing a quick score, they held Palo Alto scoreless for nearly five minutes, forcing multiple turnovers and contested shots.

The offense managed an 8-0 run that was mostly fueled by one sequence of technical free throws by captain senior Spencer Wells and a three-pointer by senior Sean Small immediately after. This cut the lead to under 20 at 39-21, but Palo Alto ended its scoring drought with a 3 that pushed the score back to 43-23. The quarter ended 43-26.

“Our shooting woes continued through the third quarter,” Simon said. “Our defense really picked up. We only gave up six points which is terrific, but we weren’t able to capitalize on offense still.”

Simon led the team with 13 points.

In the fourth, The Vikings used nearly every second of their possessions, while the Eagles tried to score as quickly as possible. After 2 Vikings 3-pointers made the score 49-28, the Eagles implemented a full court pressure defense. However, the Vikings still cherry-picked easy two-on-one baskets.

Despite several Eagle threes, the Vikings were able to maintain a comfortable lead. Spencer’s 3-pointer made the score 55-41 and Simon cut the lead to 13 after free throws. But with only two minutes left, it was too late. The game ended 58-46.

Sean Wells called it a disappointing end to a great season.

“Its always tough to end a season with a game … that’s kind of a blowout,” he said. “At the same time, winning a CCS game on Thursday, we hadn’t done in my three years on varsity. … We don’t measure our season in this last game. We measured it in the success over the course of it.”