Most leagues are reaching their midpoint this weekend, and there’s plenty to digest for local basketball fans. Want to see a battle for a league title? There are plenty of games with first place up for grabs. Interested in playoff races? Seeding will be at stake in all sorts of matchups, including a Palo Alto-Los Altos showdown that could have a profound effect on the CCS Open Division picture. Just looking for a fun rivalry? Every game in the PAL can deliver that.
No. 3 Mitty (13-3, 4-2 WCAL) @ No. 4 Serra (13-3, 5-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Winners of three straight trips to Morton Family Gymnasium, the Mitty Monarchs will have an added obstacle in their quest for a fourth straight year winning at Serra as Nigel Burris will be out on Friday night with an ankle injury. He took a hard fall in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s 62-51 loss to Riordan, but the Monarchs still have plenty of weapons at their disposal as they try to win once again at head coach Tim Kennedy’s alma mater, which they did last year in dramatic fashion to secure the WCAL title. Burris’ injury should open up more opportunities for junior center Arrish Bhandal, who will be deployed in the post to match up with Muti Shuman. After scoring just 14 points in a blowout loss at Bellarmine, the Padres have won two straight behind strong showings from Julius Alcantara. The 6-foot-5 senior had 17 points in a win over Valley Christian and a double-double at St. Francis, including one of the best dunks of the year.
No. 14 Palo Alto (13-4, 4-0 SCVAL De Anza) @ No. 10 Los Altos (16-1, 5-0), Friday, 7:45 p.m.
With Carmel’s stunning Thursday night loss to Palma, the path to the CCS Open Division became much clearer for Los Altos, but the Eagles will have one of their toughest tests yet on Friday night when they host Palo Alto. The Vikings have won nine of 10 games, allowing under 50 points in eight of the victories in that span while only losing to Menlo-Atherton. The Eagles are coming off their most convincing league win, a 62-38 romp at Los Gatos on Wednesday night.
No. 7 St. Francis (12-4, 4-2 WCAL) @ No. 1 Riordan (14-2, 5-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
What was a five-way tie for first in the WCAL standings a week ago now consists of just two teams, and the Riordan Crusaders are one of them, riding high after winning at Mitty for the first time since 2002. Next Tuesday’s trip to Serra is another one the Crusaders have had circled on their calendar all season, which leaves Friday’s meeting with the Lancers as a trap game. However, with last year’s loss in Mountain View, it would be hard to see Riordan overlooking St. Francis, even with the Lancers coming off a home loss to Serra.
No. 8 Sacred Heart Prep (11-3, 5-1 WCAL) @ No. 23 Woodside Priory (12-2, 5-1), Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Menlo stands alone atop the WBAL standings for now, but the winner of Friday night’s game in Portola Valley will be able to keep pace. Fans of good post play will be enthralled by the matchup of Woodside Priory junior David Ajanaku-Makun and SHP senior Charlie Selna, who was one of five double-digit scorers for the Gators in Wednesday’s romp over Crystal Springs Uplands. The Panthers didn’t have quite as easy a time on Tuesday, but they’re entering the weekend coming off a 50-36 win over Pinewood that will be critical in CCS Division V seeding.
No. 11 Sacred Heart Cathedral (7-9, 2-4 WCAL) @ No. 2 Bellarmine (14-2, 4-2), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
The Fightin’ Irish and Bells will round out the first half of WCAL play by meeting for the first time since they squared off in the CCS Open Division Championship, which the Irish won 51-48 to cap off an improbable title run. Trips to Bellarmine have been especially difficult for SHC in recent years, losing four straight meetings at Patrick Wayne Valley Memorial Gymnasium. The Bells will be coming in looking for a complete game after struggling for three quarters in a Tuesday win at St. Ignatius, and they’ll need to make some revisions to the scouting report with the emergence of SHC sophomore Eli McCarthy. In just his third varsity game, he made a statement with 14 points, nine rebounds and six blocks in Tuesday’s win over Valley Christian.
No. 12 St. Ignatius (5-11, 0-6 WCAL) @ No. 17 Valley Christian (8-8, 0-6), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
The last two teams without a win in WCAL play will meet on Friday night, and youth will be on display on both ends as a pair of freshman point guards square off for the first time. King-Jhsanni Wilhite runs the offense for SI while Valley Christian has the ball in the hands of Jaiden Paran. While both teams have taken their lumps in the section’s best league, there have been encouraging signs as of late. The Wildcats led Bellarmine through three quarters on Tuesday and the Warriors hung tough with Serra the entire way last Friday.
Salinas (12-7, 2-4 PCAL Gabilan) @ No. 22 Palma (14-4, 6-0), Saturday, 7 p.m.
The saying is that defense travels, and it sure did for Palma on Thursday night with a 44-43 win at Carmel to take sole possession of first place in the PCAL Gabilan Division. Next up for the Chieftains is archrival Salinas, paying a visit Saturday night. The Cowboys have split the season series with Palma each of the last two years, and if sophomores Joey Finley and Nate Jean-Pierre can lead their team to a home win, it’ll double as a statement for the Chieftains to show that the future has arrived sooner than anticipated.
No. 25 Aptos (11-7, 5-0 SCCAL) @ Soquel (11-8, 3-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
Halfway through SCCAL play, the Mariners stand alone in first place, but they’ve yet to take trips to Soquel and Santa Cruz. That changes Friday night on the Knights’ home floor, where Stu Walters’ side will look to avoid a repeat of a Jan. 7 clash in which Brian Bowyer lit Soquel up to the tune of 23 points, knocking down six 3-pointers in a 57-52 Aptos victory.
No. 19 Piedmont Hills (11-4, 4-1 BVAL Mt. Hamilton) @ Evergreen Valley (12-2, 4-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
The Evergreen Valley Cougars played a weak nonleague schedule, and it showed in their first three league games before they turned on the jets in the last two, including a Wednesday victory at Independence in which they outscored the 76ers 41-23 in the first and third quarters.
While Rohan Bindu is usually the lead scorer for the Cougars, he was one of four in double-figures in the road win. They’ll need all hands on deck again Friday night to handle a Pirates team that can light it up from 3-point range behind the tandem of Alijah Washington and Jordan Martinez.
Carlmont (8-9, 3-2 PAL South) @ No. 15 Sequoia (8-9, 4-1), Friday, 7:45 p.m.
Of all the PAL rivalry matchups, the battle between the Scots and Ravens is one of the most appealing as Sequoia looks to stay within a game of Menlo-Atherton in the South Division. Having lost to the Bears on the road, there’s no room for further error for the Ravens if they want to make the Feb. 7 tilt a must-see game.
Carlmont, meanwhile, has caught fire as of late, quieting concerns about missing the playoffs with a 64-54 win over Burlingame behind a 23-point, 12-rebound performance from Tim Netane in which the 6-foot-4 sophomore knocked down a trio of 3-pointers. He and Joe Seaman (10 points, eight rebounds) combine to give the Scots a post tandem that should be able to trade blows with Sequoia’s combination of Davin Leathers, Kiahn Nice-Whiteside and Albert Tuakalau.
