The Los Gatos High boys basketball team hangs its hat on defense. Nowhere was that more apparent than late in the third quarter of its Central Coast Section Division I playoff home opener against San Benito High on Friday.
The Haybalers needed a score to try to cut their deficit to single digits, but everytime one of their players tried to create off the dribble or get an open look, they were immediately stood up or surrounded by Los Gatos players.
San Benito never got a shot off, resulting in a shot-clock violation. Arya Emarlou hit a 3-pointer to close the quarter and the Wildcats were never threatened the rest of the way en route to a 50-36 victory. The No. 10 seed Wildcats (15-10) play at No. 7 Silver Creek (17-6) at 7pm Saturday in a second-round matchup.
It’s a foe Los Gatos knows well, as it lost to Silver Creek 63-57 in its third game of the season on Dec. 4. The Wildcats are much better equipped to win the rematch, as they didn’t have starting point guard Max Houghton at the time and also lost starting shooting guard Simon Estrin during the game to injury.
“Simon got run into and tore his ACL, so guys are going to have that fresh in their mind,” Wildcats coach Nick Ward said. “Simon reminded them of that. He had surgery on Wednesday and wasn’t here tonight, but he was watching at home. We’re a different team since December and I’m sure they’re different, but Silver Creek is a place where we’ve been so there’s a level of comfort there.”
Somewhat surprisingly, San Benito never could make this a competitive contest. That’s a testament to the Wildcats’ execution, especially on the defensive end. They pretty much put this one away in the first half, when they dominated the boards and grabbed a half-dozen offensive rebounds which led to points and extra possessions.
As a result, San Benito was never able to make a run. Ward was pleased in how the players competed and executed the game plan.
“We played hard and understood what their strengths were and what their game plan would be,” Ward said. “We came out really well in the first half and got easy scores, which got us going. But for us, it’s defense and we held them to 36 points. When we’re locked in and defending like that, I think we’re a pretty good team.”
Emarlou got to the basket off dribble penetration and mixed that in with his signature outside jumpers to finish with a game-high 16 points. Houghton had 13 points and Trent Splaine scored eight points. Ward praised the play of Luke White, who had the task of guarding Balers standout Tyler Pacheco. The San Benito senior was limited to seven points.
“Luke White is not going to be flashy, but he’s defending the other team’s best kid every single night,” Ward said. “He held a really good scorer to seven points and I thought he did an excellent job of really clamping down.”
Senior forward Jack Rusiniak has also given the team a lift in the last few weeks coming back from injury.
“Jack missed about five weeks and he played really well tonight off the bench,” Ward said. “We got a huge contribution from him and he’s getting back into form. He’s a senior and he understands this is very final and it’s good to have him back.”
Sports editor Emanuel Lee can be reached at el**@we*****.com
