Basketball: Sandoval leads Woodside over M-A, 71-64 Basketball: Sandoval leads Woodside over M-A, 71-64 (January 25, 2006)

By Max Schneider

Special to the Almanac

When the Woodside boys' basketball team needed a scorer and a leader toward the end of a nailbiter against league rival Menlo-Atherton, they turned to a lanky senior named James Sandoval for help. Fortunately for the Wildcats, he delivered. And delivered. And delivered. And really, it was only fitting.

By scoring six important points down the stretch of Woodside's 71-64 January 20 home victory over M-A, Sandoval cemented his place among the upper echelon of Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) hoopsters.

The 6-foot-5 senior, who scored a game-high 26 against M-A, is averaging 21.5 points over the past two weeks, and has been rebounding well, too. He has also shown a knack for steady leadership, frequently coming through in the clutch.

Sandoval began strongly against the Bears, scoring six quick points in the opening minutes. The Wildcats led 13-11 after a J.R. Valdez 3-pointer, when M-A regrouped, and in a big way.

Playing their trademark loose and wild style, the Bears ran off a 21-7 run that spanned two periods and gave them a 32-20 lead with 5:00 to go in the half. The lead was 45-38 at halftime, but Woodside was unfazed and got back in the game behind strong play by junior Matt Pelesasa.

Pelesasa, who finished with a season-high 19 points, hit a fast-break layup to get his team within 55-54 at the end of the third quarter, and then had a big 3-pointer to start the fourth as the Wildcats put an emphasis on defense, limiting the Bears to nine points in the period.

Then, Sandoval took over.

He made a short jumper with 5:40 to go, then converted off an offensive rebound with 2:00 left, and concluded with another jumper that made it 64-57 with 1:38 left, effectively ending the game.

Freshman marvel Chris Crowder contributed 10 points for Woodside and four players (Peter DeFillips, Noah Bennett, Kevin Disibio, and Gorjan Hrustanovic) scored nine points to lead M-A.

The game was essentially a tale of two halves, as M-A displayed their offensive potential and up-tempo game in scoring 45 points in the first half. After the break, however, Woodside recommitted to their suffocating defense and held the Bears to only 19.

With the win, Woodside improved to 10-8 (3-1 in league play) and a tie for second place in the PAL South Division. M-A fell to 11-8 (1-3) and a tie for fourth.

In their other games last week (both of which were on January 18 and away from home), Woodside beat last-place Half Moon Bay, 69-51, and M-A lost to first-place Sequoia, 64-42. Valdez paced Woodside with 23 points, and Sandoval added 18. For M-A, Hrustanovic and Stephen Call both scored 10.

M-A's games this week: January 25 at 4:45 vs. Carlmont; January 27 at 7:45 at Menlo (both games will be broadcast on KCEA radio, 89.1 FM).

Woodside's games this week: January 25 at 4:45 at Menlo; January 27 at 7:45 vs. Sequoia.

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