LOS GATOS, Calif. - The Los Gatos Wildcats were eager to turn their two-game winless SCVAL-De Anza start around with their match-up against Homestead on Jan. 15. They did just that, defeating the Mustangs 46-38 in a tight game that came down to the final minute to secure their first league victory.
Anirudh Rao led Los Gatos (8-7, 1-2 SCVAL-De Anza) with 17 points and helped put the Wildcats ahead early in the game. Rao’s older brother, Yuvraj Rao, knocked down a crucial three with under a minute remaining and made all six of his free throws when the Mustangs began to foul. He finished with 12 points.
It wasn’t until the second half when Homestead (10-6, 2-2 SCVAL-De Anza) began to pick up the pace. The Mustangs went into halftime trailing 23-11, but senior shooting guard Alex Harris took charge and helped Homestead go on a 13-point scoring run, contributing several fast break layups and even a dunk. Harris finished the night with 14 points.
“We overcame the run that [Homestead] made in the third quarter,” said Los Gatos head coach Jamon Osby. “Earlier in the season, we would have crumbled under that type of situation.”
After Homestead scored their 13 unanswered points, Corey Brown sunk a mid-range two for Los Gatos to get the ball rolling for the Wildcats again. Harris would later lay one more in for the Mustangs to put them ahead 26-25 at the end of the third quarter.
Los Gatos and Homestead went back and forth throughout the fourth quarter. Homestead seemed like they were gaining momentum after a Kai Levenson scored a layup off of a Harris dime, but Yuvraj Rao hit a dagger three with just 46 seconds to put the Wildcats ahead 40-36. The Mustangs were forced to start fouling, and Rao would find himself on the free throw line three separate times, where he made all six shots to seal the victory. The Los Gatos defense also locked it down, as they held Homestead to its lowest scoring game of the season.
“We played really good defense,” Anirudh said after the victory. “We really executed our gameplan on defense by not letting [Harris] put up too many shots.”
Los Gatos will take a trip to Milpitas (0-3) on Jan. 17 in hopes of adding another win to their league record. Homestead will host current SCVAL-De Anza leader Palo Alto (3-0) on Friday as well.
