The Palo Alto boys’ basketball team (8-2) demolished the Milpitas Trojans (1-7) in a 61-38 win at home on Senior Night.

After losing the tip off, the Vikings went straight to defense.  They managed to hold the Trojans to zero and quickly scored a three-pointer by Aubrey Dawkins (’13).  After a layup by Milpitas center Derek Fox (’12), Dawkins retaliated with another three.

Paly forced a shot clock violation as the first quarter wound down.  First quarter ended with the Vikings up 9-6.

As the second quarter rolled along, Paly’s aggressive defense proved to be a key element in keeping the Trojans’ in check.

Head coach Adam Sax agreed that the team was improving its defending, but feels they still need to work out the kinks.

“One key word…trap,” Sax said. “We got to do a better job blocking out shooters.  When we play those elite teams that have shooters, they’re going to make you pay.”

Point guard Mathias Schmutz (’13) who put up several three pointers, agrees with his coach on the matter.

“We played well defensively, but we got to keep improving,” Schmutz said.

As the first half came to a close both forward E.J. Floreal (’13) and point guard Alec Wong (’12) were fouled.  Wong made both free throws bringing the Vikings to a 25-17 lead at the half.

Floreal startedf Paly’s momentum with a layup at the beginning of the second half.  Trojan Buddy Ames (’12) responded with a layup soon after.  During the Trojan’s next possession, Wong bit back and stole the ball, and completed the play with a pass to Aldis Petriceks (’13) for the layup.

The Vikings kept up this momentum for the duration of the game.  Although the team kept Milpitas close to half of Paly’s score, Sax thinks their performance could be more consistant.

“We learned we got to play defense for 32 minutes,” Sax said.

The boys’ basketball team will see if they have improved their skills at its next game this Friday at 7:45 p.m. away at Homestead.