PALO ALTO — For the second time in less than two weeks, Palo Alto has taken down a major private school. After becoming the first public school team to reach the CCS Open Division semifinals, the Vikings knocked off De La Salle in the first round of the CIF Division I State Tournament, with Max Dorward scoring 13 of his team-high 24 points in the third quarter to power the hosts to a 62-49 win.
“Year in and year out, it would be tough for Paly to beat De La Salle,” said head coach Peter Diepenbrock. “This is a special group. Regardless of who we’re playing, we think we have a good chance.”
The third quarter was marked by huge individual performances from both Dorward and De La Salle’s lone senior starter, Justin Pratt. The UC San Diego commit scored all of his team’s 11 points in the quarter and matched Dorward with 24 on the night.
“Max was aggressive in the open court and took his opportunities,” said Diepenbrock.
The biggest play of the third quarter, though, may have been the lone basket scored by someone other than Dorward and Pratt. After a 7-0 run, capped off by a Pratt 3-pointer, cut the Palo Alto lead to 33-31, it was Spencer Rojahn answering with a corner three to restore a five-point advantage and spark a 10-2 Viking surge to close the quarter.
Rojahn’s 12 points all seemed to come at critical times. He scored the opening five points of the second quarter to put Palo Alto (24-3) up by four, the first time either team had led by more than two.
“They scouted us really well,” said Rojahn. “They knew when our backcuts were coming so we moved into a drive-and-kick offense.”
The eighth-seeded Vikings led by as much as eight in the second quarter after opening the period on a 12-2 run and took a 27-22 advantage into halftime. It was depth making the impact in a second quarter where Dorward was held off the scoreboard. Two points apiece from Bryant Jefferson, Will Schmutz and Paul Jackson III made for a 6-0 run to put Paly ahead by eight. Pratt kept De La Salle (21-9) close, scoring 13 in the first half, including a three to end the first with the Spartans ahead 15-14.
“He’s their guy,” said Diepenbrock of Pratt.
One of just two seniors on the roster, Pratt made up just under half of his team’s scoring on the night and leaves having made a profound impact on the program.
“It’s tough to walk off for the last time with only one other senior,” he said. “Dom Freitas is my best friend, and we’ve been through so much together, with all the ups and downs of three coaching changes and a whole new team and roster. I’m just so proud of my team and what they’ve accomplished this year, and I’m really looking forward to what they can do next year.”
The ninth-seeded Spartans also got 10 points from Tim Kostolansky and eight from Andrew Flannigan, but Pratt was the undisputed star.
“He’s an absolute warrior and an offensive juggernaut,” said head coach Justin Argenal. “He was averaging 18 points a game this year with everyone keying on him. I played with some of the absolute greats in Kyle Roemer and Theo Robertson, and they never put up numbers like that. He’s going to be great at UC San Diego next year and he’ll be a really good player in the CCAA.”
With Pratt and Dorward each scoring 24, depth was the difference. Rojahn’s 12, along with 10 from Jackson III and eight from Schmutz, gave Palo Alto the edge. The Vikings also went 18-for-22 at the line to earn a trip to top-seeded Heritage on Saturday.
