Boys varsity basketball cruised to a 74-38 win over Wilcox High School on Friday night, improving its record to 11-7.
Paly jumped out to a commanding 49-20 lead by halftime and carried that momentum into the second half. With Wilcox unable to regain its footing, Paly controlled the remainder of the game and secured a decisive victory.
Head coach Jeff LaMere said the team’s intensive preparation played a large role in their success against Wilcox.
“We had a full week of practice to really be able to work on our execution, work on our defense, and work on our offense, and that helped us out quite a bit,” LaMere said.
LaMere also said the team’s execution was important to the win.
“(The players) had quick hands, they rotated to the passing lanes, and we did a really good job of creating turnovers and then finishing plays,” LaMere said.
Junior Anton Gerdemann said the team brought a lot of effort into the game, particularly after losses to Milpitas and Los Gatos.
“I thought our team had great hustle this game, and we won the game through the hustle,” Gerdemann said. “We had a problem with guys sprinting back on defense. I feel like we improved this a lot today.”
LaMere said Gerdemann’s hustle and effort stood out.
“He played his butt off,” LaMere said. “He had that one play where he dove Superman full-out on the baseline, trying to save the ball. Those are the types of hustle plays that we need to enhance.”
Junior Ben Laris said the team’s chemistry contributed to their performance.
“We played really well,” Laris said. “We played together, we rebounded the ball, we got back in transition, and when you play good like that, you’re just going to see the results that we did.”
Gerdemann said he looks to make a run in the playoffs in the future.
“I just want to enjoy my time with this team and hope we make a deep run in the playoffs,” Gerdemann said.
Ultimately, LaMere said the team will continue to focus on defensive rotations in the future.
“We should keep practicing it (defensive rotations),” LaMere said. “As we keep practicing, we’ll be able to run them against better teams.”
