After a lovely ceremony to honor the senior athletes, boys basketball lost a disappointing game to Los Gatos by a final score of 54-49.

The game started off slow; both teams were locking down the defensive end. Los Gatos hit a couple of shots at the end of the first quarter to lead 17-13 after one.

The Vikings came into the game knowing to win they’d need to slow down Los Gatos’s star forward Dylan Belquist. Belquist was a problem for Paly all night long including scoring ten of his 19 points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter the Vikings locked it down defensively, allowing just nine points in the quarter including only two from Belquist. The halftime score was 26-25 with Paly trailing by just one.

After halftime, both teams came out of the locker room with a little extra energy and the game continued to be a nail biter as it was 41-39 Wildcats heading into the fourth quarter.

The game stayed very close down the stretch but the Vikings just didn’t hit the shots they needed to win the game, Los Gatos won 54-49.

Seniors Jack Simison (‘17), Eelis Copeland (‘17), Ethan Stern (‘17) and Myles Tention (‘17) combined for a total of 15 points on their Senior Night.

“We’ve got to have a strong showing on Friday at Milpitas following our loss against Gatos,” said Jared Wulbrun (‘18) after the game. “We’re now right on the edge of the open division and we need one more convincing win to hopefully solidify our spot. As a team we’ve got to get back to playing as one unit, all being invested in each other and the team’s success.”
This was Paly’s first league loss of the season as the move to 10-1 in league play having already secured the regular season league title. The Vikings close out league play this Friday 2/17, at Milpitas at 7:45.