Spartans' pressure leads to 73-68 win

By Pete Borello, Town Crier Staff Writer

photos by Roy Johnson/Special to the Town Crier Mountain View High’s Terence Willis looks to shoot in Saturday’s game against Los Altos. The senior scored 21 points.

What the Mountain View High boys basketball team gave up to Los Altos on the inside, it more than made up for in the backcourt.

The Spartans’ full-court press was enough to overcome 21 points from Eagles center Brett Perrotta Saturday in a 73-68 home win.

“It was definitely our defensive pressure,” Mountain View coach Bob Heckmann said of the difference in the rivalry game, played before a raucous, near-capacity crowd. “I felt our full-court pressure wore them down mentally.”

No argument from Los Altos coach James Reilly, whose team looked especially vulnerable to the press with point guard Kennie Park sitting out most of the second half with a hamstring injury.

“The style they play - they run and jump at you - is like organized chaos,” Reilly said of Mountain View (5-4). “We expected them to play like that, but we didn’t handle it as well as I had hoped.”

Los Altos (2-4) made 20 turnovers, six in the third quarter when it lost its lead for good.

The Eagles started to unravel after taking its biggest lead, 40-35, on Rich Rullo’s putback with 4:56 left in the third. Mountain View went on a 17-3 run to cap the quarter, getting four of its field goals off consecutive Los Altos turnovers.

Terence Willis ignited the run with a fastbreak layup on a pass from Kevin Metsers, who scored the next two baskets with a layin off an inbound steal and a three-pointer. Willis followed with a trey of his own.

Willis scored 12 of his 21 points in the third, while fellow senior guard Metsers tallied seven of his 18.

Los Altos scored the first three points of the fourth - on a follow-up shot and free throw by Perrotta - to pull within 52-46.

That’s as close as the Eagles would get. Mountain View’s lead ballooned to 71-56 when John Doty completed a three-point play after slashing for a layin with 1:30 remaining.

By then, three Los Altos starters had fouled out - including Perrotta and Matt Favaro, who scored nine of his 11 points in the opening quarter.

“The fouls really hurt us,” Reilly said. “If Perrotta’s on the court, we’re much better.”

Perrotta picked up his fifth foul with 3:26 to play, not a moment too soon for Mountain View. The bulky 6-foot-4 junior drew constant double teams, yet still went 8-for-10 from the field.

“We had no answer for him,” Heckmann said. “He’s a really good player.”

Despite losing so many starters in the waning minutes, Los Altos didn’t give up. The Eagles finished the game on a 12-2 run, capped by Haris Iqbal’s three-pointer at the buzzer.

Both teams shot below 30 percent on three-pointers, with Mountain View making 4 of 14 and Los Altos 3 of 13.

Field-goal percentage was nearly even - Mountain View shot 44 percent and Los Altos 42 percent - but the Spartans held bigger advantages in other areas. They shot 10 more free throws than Los Altos (38 to 28) and committed only nine turnovers.

Los Altos and Mountain View next play in the Fremont Holiday Tournament, scheduled Saturday through Dec. 21 in Sunnyvale.