Jefferson falls in finals of Bresnahan Blue and Gold Classic

The Wildcats opened on a 12-0 run, thanks to a sweet stroke from beyond the arc. Los Gatos had slumped the previous two nights, converting just 2 of 25 on 3-point attempts, including 0 for 13 in a 68-60 win over University-SF in Friday’s semifinals. Against Jeff, the Wildcats knocked down 3 of 7 in first quarter, and were an electric 7 of 13 from 3-point range in the first half.

“We know Los Gatos is a great program,” Jefferson head coach John Falabella said, “and they’re traditionally a great 3-point shooting team. We did notice that they were a little bit off the last couple days, so that did impact our defensive game plan. ... If we were going to give something up, it was going to be the deep ball. Especially since their numbers were as they were.”

Brennan is one of seven football players who joined the Los Gatos hoops team Monday following a 27-7 elimination loss on the gridiron Friday, Nov. 29, to St. Francis in the Central Coast Section Division I championship football game.

The 6-4 senior — son of University of Arizona head football coach Brent Brennan, who coached the seven previous seasons at San Jose State — gained 265 total yards in the CCS football finals. Then six days later, in Thursday’s 66-47 win over Aragon in the opener of the Blue and Gold Classic, he netted 22 points in 18 minutes in his season debut on the court. He followed with a season-high 25 points Friday against University.

“Obviously, we’re ecstatic he came back for his senior year,” Los Gatos head coach Nick Ward said. “He could have gone to Arizona with his dad. But he stayed home for senior year ... and he’s just a phenomenal athlete.”

Jefferson (4-1) finally got on the board midway through the first quarter on a Raymond Villar 3-pointer. A strong man’s layup by junior center Jayden Peralta, followed by a strip-and-score layup by senior Michael Slugher cut the deficit to 17-7. But Brennan answered with a sweet 12-foot turnaround jumper.

Los Gatos sophomore Blake Mordaunt, who scored 11 points on the night, came off the bench to drill three 3s in the second quarter, as the Wildcats pushed the lead to 40-19 by the half.

“We told the guys: ‘If I’m scouting us, going off the previous two games, I’m sagging off and I’m letting you shoot,’” Ward said. “We have shooters. We have four kids that shot 40% last year ... and one of our sophomores is a deadly shooter. He got hot in the first half.”

Jefferson committed 22 turnovers, but got the ball to Peralta in the post enough to climb back to respectability on the scoreboard in the second half. Peralta scored a team-high 10 points, including a 4-of-6 stint from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

“They’re a very tough team,” Peralta said. “A very fundamentally sound team, and they all hustle very hard. That’s one thing I can appreciate about their team. I recognize they all play a hundred percent throughout the whole game. They’re all very levelheaded and very physical too.”

Peralta scored in double figures in all three games in the tournament. He totaled a game-high 14 points Thursday in a 67-33 win over Marshall-SF in the tourney opener, and added 14 points in Friday’s semifinals, a 61-51 win over Galileo-SF, with junior point guard Esteban DeLeon scored a game-high 18 points and Slugher adding 15.

With the graduation of All-Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division first-team center Ta’saan Clark, Peralta is shouldering more of a load this season.

“He’s really developed quite well,” Falabella said. “He’s a great post player. He’s great with the ball. He’s a leader. He does everything a coach could want from a player. ... Last year he was more of a secondary option. This year he’s stepped up as more of a primary option doing a lot of things that Ta’saan had done last year.”

Prior to Saturday’s loss, Jefferson was riding a four-game winning streak to start the year.

“Just our trust overall with each other,” Peralta said of the key to the Grizzlies’ success. “I think that’s what’s been going on. ... Even before the season, we’ve all been looking forward to the season and to play with each other. And I think that overall trust and chemistry with each other has been what’s pushing everyone to just keep going in every scenario, and just work together and be cohesive with each other.”

This is the second straight year Los Gatos has defeated Jefferson in the Blue and Gold Classic championship game. Last year, the Wildcats won 52-49 on a dramatic buzzer-beater.