The Falcons’ 11-game win streak came to an end on Feb. 5 after they suffered a 73-65 loss at home against Monta Vista, who shot a remarkable 60% from the field.
Currently, this marks the Falcons’ only defeat in the league as they stand at 10-1 after defeating Fremont 69-58 in an away game on Feb. 7. The team is in first place in the less competitive El Camino division with Homestead trailing by one game at a 9-2 record.
The Falcons defeated Lynbrook 38-28 in an away game on Jan. 31, a drastic improvement from their previous 13 point comeback earlier this season. On Jan. 29, the Falcons had a 55-46 victory, away at Cupertino.
Late last month, the team secured two tickets to the CIF-Central Coast Section (CCS) competition after playing back-to-back games. Qualifications can be achieved by holding a“win to loss” ratio at or above .500 through both preseason and the regular season.
On Jan. 25, the Falcons hosted Los Altos at home. This game was non-league and rescheduled from the preseason, a must-win to guarantee them a CCS spot from an above .500 record in the postseason.
The Falcons did just that, defeating the Eagles 62-44 and picking up their second CCS qualification with a record above .500 in preseason as well. This double qualification guarantees the Falcons a spot for CCS.
The previous day, the team faced MacDonald in an away league game. They emerged victorious 64-49, sealing their 9th consecutive win on the season for a 7-0 league record.
However, a record above .500 in league alone is not enough to guarantee the team a spot in CCS as there are only 16 spots and dozens of teams trying to qualify.
The team’s starting roster consists of star senior guard Steven Ning, senior forwards Daniel Jadali and Saatvik Kommareddi as well as sophomore guard Aidan Liu and sophomore center Anson Hulme. Both sophomores have made huge strides through intensive practice and training over the summer.
“I’ve been coaching teams at Saratoga High for over 30 years and I don’t think I’ve ever had a team so balanced and working collectively for a goal that they put above their individual achievements,” coach Mike Davey remarked.
The team has only been league champions seven times in the program’s history, the most recent dating back to 13 years ago in 2012. However, the team has some work ahead of them.
Ning said, “Working on executing plays and not getting rushed on offense is a focal point for improvement. On the other side of things, we are always trying to strengthen our team’s defense. Coach Davey has been working with us everyday when we run plays at game speed against each other.”
Although there is still some work to be done, the team is confident they can bring home a league title and have a deep run in CCS.
“The last three years we’ve lost in the quarterfinal of CCS but the skill level and talent of this team has convinced me that we can break that curse and possibly go farther than any other Saratoga High boys basketball team has ever gone,” Kommareddi said.
