By Craig Wentz
Town Crier Correspondent
Prep Boys Hoop Scoop
The Gunn High boys basketball team has been the area’s biggest surprise in December, winning six games in a row.
The host Titans (7-1) had little trouble dispatching Mountain View in a non-league contest last Friday, prevailing 57-40.
Gunn bolted out to a 21-7 first quarter lead and increased the margin to 38-23 at the half en route to victory. Charlie Parse paced a balanced Titans’ scoring attack with a game-high 17 points. Derek Brannon and Scott Cowger added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for Gunn.
Mountain View’s Matthew Ronconi continued his pinpoint shooting with 19 point. Teammate Kevin Hsu added 10.
The Titans followed Friday’s win with a 69-58 victory over Aragon in the first-round of the Fremont-Sunnyvale Holiday Tournament. Menno Goodman poured in a game-high 19 points for Gunn.
The Spartans (0-8) remained winless after a 64-20 whipping by Independence in the opening round of the Fremont tournament last Saturday. No Spartan had more than four points.
Homestead is off to a 6-4 start in non-league play and appears primed for SCVAL El Camino Division competition, which starts next month.
The Mustangs’ success thus far can be credited to balanced scoring and the torrid shooting of guard Brad Sasaki.
Last week, Homestead had three players in double figures in a 59-50 non-league triumph over visiting Aragon.
Sasaki led Homestead with 19 points and was complemented by 12 points each from Tim Strombel and Gus Gauntlett. The Mustangs built a commanding 37-21 halftime lead in the Dec. 11 game and never looked back.
Homestead hit a bump in the road Saturday, though, falling to 60-50 to a solid Mt. Eden team in the opening round of the Fremont-Sunnyvale Holiday Tournament. Sasaki scored 20 points and made three three-pointers.
St. Francis (3-3), which entered the season as one of the top teams in Northern California, is nearly back to full strength with the return of four-year starter Hakeem Gilliard.
Gilliard, one of the premier point guards in the Central Coast Section, returned to the Lancers’ lineup in last weekend’s Palma Tournament after recovering from a knee injury suffered during football season.
After dropping its tournament opener to Salesian 51-46 Gilliard dropped in a team-high 18 points for St. Francis in a 71-51 second-round win over Seaside. Danny Ackman and David Chiotti contributed 17 and 15 points, respectively, for the Lancers.
St. Francis then captured the consolation championship Saturday with a 64-63 win over Ignacio Valley. Chiotti scored 22 points and Gilliard 14.
Chiotti was named to the all-tournament team.
Los Altos (2-6) hung tough with host Carlmont on Friday before falling 62-43.
The Eagles trailed 28-23 at halftime, but were done in by a 20-9 Carlmont run in the fourth quarter. John Schrader led Los Altos with 12 points.
Los Altos bounced back on Saturday with a 53-42 triumph over Menlo-Atherton in the first round of the Fremont tournament, as Schrader pumped in a game-high 25 points. Both of the Eagles’ wins this season have come against M-A.
