The proving ground starts Tuesday for the Sobrato boy’s
basketball team — on its home court
SAN JOSE — The proving ground starts Tuesday for the Sobrato boy’s basketball team — on its home court.
The Bulldogs became playoff eligible with Friday’s 70-53 victory over the Mount Pleasant Cardinals and still have a shot of winning at least a share of the Blossom Valley Athletic League-Santa Teresa Division championship. They also can lock up an at-large playoff spot with an impressive run through their final four games.
Sobrato, which has won three straight, will face the top three teams in the division — but first has to take care of a pesky Evergreen Valley squad that has become more and more dangerous during the second half of this season.
The Bulldogs (17-5 overall, 7-3 BVAL) host the Cougars (10-12, 3-7) at 7 p.m. in Sobrato Gym.
“The way our coaching staff looks at it, we don’t have three big games coming up. We have four big games coming up,” Bulldogs coach Lawrence Crawford said during a telephone interview Monday. “In order for us to even be in a position to win league and get the automatic berth or tie for first, we have to finish off the rest of our games. With three losses going in, we pretty much have to beat everybody. It’s possible.”
Crawford said his team has to play better than in its last meeting with Evergreen Valley, when Ryan Williams’ school-record 38 points carried the Bulldogs to a 71-59 triumph.
“We only had four or five guys score in that game,” said Crawford, now in his fifth season at Sobrato. “We have to have input and get the little things out of the way.”
Against the Cardinals (2-17, 1-9), who were celebrating their homecoming weekend, the Bulldogs cruised with another impressive night by Williams. The junior forward scored a game-high 24 points, including a 5-for-5 effort at the free-throw line. Bryan Bradley finished with 16 points, and Rauley Cambra added nine for Sobrato, which led 37-29 at halftime.
“We played hard,” Crawford said. “There were times we weren’t playing our best, but we played real hard and they got intense later in the game.”
Crawford said the Bulldogs will not be looking ahead to Friday, when they visit first-place Willow Glen.
