Wildcats chop down Live Oak

Top-seeded Woodside (26-5), winners of 17 straight, advances to the quarterfinals against the winner of last night's Oak Grove-Aptos game on Saturday at Foothill College at 5 p.m. No. 13 seed Live Oak (13-13) stayed close for the first six minutes, taking an 11-10 lead on Mubarik Abdullah's 10-foot, pull-up jumper. But Woodside pulled away with a 34-17 run bridging the first and second quarters, capped by Eric Berman's layup with 12 seconds left in the first half.

Once the quicker and more athletic Wildcats got up and down the floor and picked up their intensity on defense, there was little the Acorns could do to stem the tide. Woodside flooded the passing lanes and finished with 15 steals and 34 fast-break points. It forced Live Oak into 27 turnovers, held a 44-22 rebounding advantage and shot 28 of 59 from the field. In short, the Wildcats did what they needed to do: Win and move on.

"It's all about survival right now," said Woodside coach Darrell Barbour. "You survive and move on. That's all that matters at this time of year."

Thanks to relentless work on the glass — Woodside grabbed 17 offensive rebounds — the Wildcats were able to get some easy points in the paint and in transition. Justonn Smith finished with 13 points and a game-high five steals, while Berman, James Sandoval and J.R. Valdez added 10 points each. Doug Porras led the Acorns with 18 points, while Matt Van Keulen and Kevin Toombs added 15 and 10 points, respectively.

"On the rebounds you're just looking to get close to the basket and time your jumps," Cruz-Duncan said. "I don't think we've peaked yet, and we're working hard and getting ready to move on. They had an aggressive team and that kind of plays to our advantage. We're going to get up on you on defense and force the action."

Cruz-Duncan certainly did that, whether it was posting up and using his superior strength for short turnaround jumpers, or muscling his way inside for putbacks. The 6-foot-4-inch senior center is coming off a dazzling 18-point performance in the Wildcats' 51-46 win over Burlingame in the Peninsula Athletic League tournament final, and is playing the best basketball of his career right now. That bodes well for a squad that is looking for its first CCS title since it repeated as 1997 Division II champions.

The Wildcats led by as many as 24 points at 72-48 on Berman's driving layup with 4:20 remaining. Live Oak, the Morgan Hill school that finished fifth in the Tri-County Athletic League, got to within seven points on two occasions in the second quarter, but Woodside answered each time — the first on Cruz-Duncan's leaner in the lane and the second off Sandoval's putback.

"This week is known as 'Ski week,'" Cruz-Duncan said. "That's why there weren't that many people at the game tonight. I'm sure they're all at Tahoe doing their own thing and having fun. We'll be here getting ready for Saturday."

And what could be more fun than preparing for another postseason title run?