Menlo’s big basketball win is just fan-tastic

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Menlo School Athletic Director Craig Schoof had to rent some bleachers for the Knights’ gym for Friday’s basketball games with rival Menlo-Atherton. Good thing, because every seat was filled for the boys’ showdown to decide who would remain tied for first place in the PAL South Division.

Having Menlo’s loud and boisterous Sea of Gold rooting section certainly didn’t hurt, either. The Knights showed their appreciation with a 54-45 victory over the Bears in front of a capacity crown.

Menlo (5-1, 15-6) kept atop the PAL South standings and exacted a bit of revenge in a critical league matchup. Parlaying a balanced offensive attack with stingy defense, Menlo avenged its only league loss, at M-A a few weeks ago.

“A lot of guys made contributions and I was proud of the way we played,” said Menlo School coach Kris Weems. “We were focused and ready to play.”

With M-A leading 12-11 after one quarter, Menlo set the tone for the remainder of the game by outscoring the Bears, 12-2 in the second quarter for a 23-14 halftime lead.

Trailing by as many as 12 points in the second half, M-A cut the margin to 45-40 with 4:34 left behind the shooting of junior guard Peter DeFilipps and senior guard Richard Branning. Menlo iced the game down the stretch by producing key field goals, playing tough interior defense and making its free throws.

Menlo’s balanced scoring was led by senior forward Max Frye, who tossed in 16 points with three three-pointers. Five Knights scored at least six points apiece as Menlo shot 50 percent from the field and made 6 of 11 three-pointers.

DeFilipps led M-A (4-2, 12-9) with 18 points and was assisted by Branning’s 10 points, including a trio of three-pointers. It was M-A’s second straight loss, leaving the Bears a game behind Menlo and Carlmont in the PAL South race.

In the SCVAL De Anza Division on Friday:

Gunn tuned up for Saturday night’s showdown with rival Palo Alto by moving into a tie with the Vikings for second place in the division following a 51-46 victory over visiting Fremont.

The Titans (4-2, 12-7) can take possession of second place by beating Paly at 7 p.m. The Vikings were upended by Saratoga on Friday, 52-49.

Gunn fell behind by 25-19 at the half, but rallied with a 32-21 spluge after intermission. Kyle Perricone, who was under the weather in a loss at Los Gatos earlier in the week, certainly felt much better after pouring in 30 points against Fremont. Ryan Miller added 11 points for the Titans.

Palo Alto, meanwhile, is doing its best to make the SCVAL De Anza Division race an exciting one, falling out of a tie for first place and dropping into a tie for second following a surprising 52-49 loss to host Saratoga.

The Vikings (4-2, 12-6) can break that tie for second by beating host Gunn on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Paly will have to play much better than it did against the hot Falcons, winners of three straight. Saratoga went on a 10-0 run in the second quarter to grab a 26-23 halftime lead, but Paly battled back and forged a 42-42 deadlock with four minutes to play.

A basket and ensuing free throw by Dom Powell, who led the Vikings with 15 points, gave Paly a 45-42 advantage. The Falcons, however, countered with late free throws and a key putback to avenge an earlier 70-37 loss to the Vikings.

Paly’s Mike Scott, Kevin Brown and Powell combined for 45 points in the firt game, but the trio was held to 24 on Friday. Scott is still bothered by an ankle sprain and contributed seven points this time out.

In the Private Schools Athletic League, Woodside Priory rallied from 11 points entering the fourth quarter, put on a furious rally and outscored King’s Academy, 19-8, force overtime and then win it, 57-48.

The victory allowed the Panthers (8-0, 14-4) to remain undefeated in the Private Schools Athletic League. Priory now leads by two games following second-place Sacred Heart Prep’s 61-57 loss to Harker in four overtimes. Both SHP and Harker are now 7-2 in league.

Priory won its game in single overtime by outscoring King’s 13-4. Ignas Pavilonis scored five of his 12 points in the extra period with 6-9 Dinko Marshavelski contributing four. Greg Somogyi scored 14 points to lead the Panthers, who had only 25 points through the first three periods.

In San Jose, Sacred Heart Prep fell from sole possession of second place in the PSAL following a 61-47 loss to host Harker in four overtimes on Friday night.

The game was tied at 38 at the end of regulation before the teams scored six, four and five points in the first three overtime periods. Harker finally pulled ahead and into a second-place tie with the Gators (7-2, 11-7), who got 19 points from Christian Buono. The perimeter-shooting Gators were held to just two three-pointers.

In the Christian Private Schools Athletic League, DJ Williams poured in 22 points with eight rebounds and six assists as Eastside Prep rolled over host Liberty Baptist, 74-32, Friday night.

Ivan Prema added 20 points for the Panthers (6-2, 12-9) while Titus Van Hook (12) and David Tenisi (10) also broke into double figures.

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