Woodside whips Serra in league challenge

The win capped a banner day for the PAL, whose stock is rising faster than anything in the Nasdaq 500. The Wildcats' victory, coupled with Burlingame's win in the second game of the tripleheader, gave the PAL rare bragging rights over its WCAL counterparts, who have traditionally dominated this event. Riordan defeated Aragon in the first game.

It was clear from the opening tip that the Wildcats (6-2) were in no mood to let history repeat itself. Instead of melting down, they showed mental toughness. Instead of getting outclassed on the glass, they outrebounded Serra, 43-20. Instead of getting beat to all the loose balls, they were clearly the aggressors, routinely outhustling the Padres (4-2). In a turn of events, it was Serra who committed careless turnovers and lacked patience on offense, settling for fruitless 3-point shots.

James Sandoval's two free throws gave Woodside a 19-6 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter. The 6-foot-4 junior center was particularly effective inside, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Dominic Cruz-Duncan had his way in the paint as well, scoring a team-high 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and J.R. Valdez provided a spark off the bench in scoring six points to go along with six rebounds. Smith (15 points), who settled mainly for outside shots in the team's 64-61 overtime loss to Palo Alto on Tuesday, attacked the basket throughout.

If Smith epitomized Woodside's aggressive play, then it was Aaron Mayfield who underscored the team's energy and hustle. The Wildcats were leading 41-28 midway in the third quarter when Decensae White stole a pass at the top of the key. Serra's 6-6 forward came in all alone and jumped high for a dunk.

The 5-8 Mayfield, seemingly out of nowhere, jumped higher, emphatically swatting the ball out of bounds.

Woodside sustained its high level of play, while Serra never reached that point. The Wildcats led by as many as 18 points, at 65-47 and 69-51. The Padres never put together more than three baskets in a row. They got to within seven points, at 21-14 early in the second, but would get no closer. Serra was led by Tommy McMahon's 22 points. Chaz Thomas added 10 points on 4 of 17 shooting, while Kent Eubanks and White combined for 17.

"The No. 1 thing we wanted to do was compete," Woodside coach Darrell Barbour said. "We've had moments where we've played like this, but we just haven't been consistent. That's been our problem. I've found out that instead of praising them I have to drive them more. They respond better to constructive criticism than praise."

Serra coach Chuck Rapp equated his team's performance to a root canal — painful to watch, even more painful to go through.

"We played that badly, but Woodside deserved to win and we deserved to lose," Rapp said. "We didn't come to play and that's my fault. I didn't have these guys ready to go. That's my job and today I didn't perform my duties as a coach. I want to take responsibility. You can find a hundred excuses for not competing and engaging, but when it comes down to it, you have to compete and engage. You can find excuses why not to do it, but instead you have to look inside yourself and find reasons how to do it, how to will yourself to win and we weren't able to do that. They beat us to every ball, they outscrapped us on the boards and they killed us on the loose rebounds and loose balls. They willed themselves to get that ball. We've been stressing how we have to be more patient, how we need more than three passes per possession, and again we just come down and jack up threes, and you saw the results. Sometimes to get tougher you have to get knocked down and get your behind whipped a little bit and that's what happened today. How we respond will reveal the character of this team. Potential doesn't mean squat."

Everything went right for the Wildcats, whose attacking style resulted in a 19 of 23 effort from the free throw line. Serra, on the other and, was just 2 of 6. Both teams had similar shooting nights — Woodside was 26 of 59 from the floor and 1 of 9 from 3-point range, while Serra was 26 of 61 and 3 of 21 from beyond the arc. Serra committed 20 turnovers to Woodside's 14.

"To blow them out really shows what we can do if we play to our potential," Smith said. "The key was not committing so many turnovers. We'll get careless at times and it's in those moments where we can lose a game. We had plenty of motivation for this one, so it's nice to come out on top."

Burlingame 51, St. Francis 39

The Panthers (6-2) used a big second-half surge to defeat the Lancers (4-2) for the second straight year. Trailing 22-14 at halftime, Burlingame outscored St. Francis 37-17 to win going away. The Panthers went on a 9-0 run to start the third, capped by Drew Shiller's two free throws. The teams would exchange scores until Burlingame took control midway through the fourth quarter. Troy Kalbhenn's layup and Shiller's 3-pointer gave the Panthers a 41-35 lead they would not relinquish. Shiller finished with 15 points and Kalbhenn 10.

Riordan 70, Aragon 58

After trailing 37-14 at halftime, the Dons (3-4) outscored the Crusaders (5-2) 44-29 in the second half only to come up short. Aragon got to within four points before Riordan won going away. Barrett Favro scored 21 points, including 12 in the final eight minutes. Sean Mosman had 15 and Matangi Tonga 11.