No. 14 SHS falls hard to No. 11 Palo Alto
PALO ALTO — The Sobrato boy’s basketball team ended its season Tuesday with a 64-44 loss to Palo Alto in the first round of the CIF-Central Coast Section playoffs.
Chris Bradley scored a dozen points, Bryan Bradley added nine; and Ryan Williams seven for the No. 14-seeded Bulldogs, who finished 20-7.
“Looking back, I’d say it was a successful season,” Sobrato coach Lawrence Crawford said. “We met our goal of making CCS.”
The host Vikings — seeded No. 11 in the Division II tournament — caught fire outside early and never let up. After Sobrato cut a 15-4 deficit to eight in the first quarter, Palo Alto drained four 3-pointers in the second on the way to building a 37-23 halftime lead.
“They just stroked it,” said Crawford, whose team finished third in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division. “We didn’t start out efficient early. We weren’t executing well at all. We had no transition.”
During the third quarter, the Vikings (14-11) poured in 16 points while limiting the Bulldogs to eight.
Trailing 53-31 going into the fourth quarter, Sobrato finished strong with 13 points.
Crawford said the playoff experience was good for his young team, which returns four starters next year.
“The majority of our team is coming back. I expect us to improve individually,” the fifth-year coach added. “The guys want to get back into it.”
Palo Alto, of the De Anza League, advanced to play No. 6 Mills on Thursday.
