"We had a good feel for their offense," said Paly head coach Peter Diepenbrock. "They didn t shoot the ball very well, but I think we did a good job of throwing off their rhythm."

In this defensive clinic put on by the Vikings, Los Gatos could manage only 14 first-half points and scored just 22 points through three quarters.

The Wildcats (7-12 overall, 3-2 Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division) actually began the game scoring the first four points, all by senior forward Nick Gingery. Paly (10-8 overall, 4-1 De Anza) didn't get on the scoreboard until the 4:47 mark of the first quarter when junior forward Cliff Andersen scored on a jumper from the right corner. Sophomore guard Jon Whetstone added a 14 footer in the lane to tie the game at 4-4 with 4:07 left in the opening frame.

It would again be over three minutes until Paly scored in the first, but junior guard Justin Resch ended the quarter on a scoring frenzy with five points in the final 30 seconds.

Resch hit a three pointer from the right side with 30 seconds left and a 15 foot jump shot with two seconds left to give Paly a 9-5 lead after the first.

Again in the second period, Los Gatos would score two quick buckets to go back ahead. Sophomore guard Trent Edwards and Gingery both scored inside for the Wildcats in the first minute and a half in the second. But from the 6:36 mark on, Los Gatos would score only two more points in the half.

Paly recieved strong bench play from senior forward Nik Ajagu, who scored four points in the second. Ajagu is still nursing an ankle injury that has hampered his performance. Andersen and junior center Beau Clark both scored inside the two minute mark of the second quarter to give Paly a 17-14 lead at half.

The third quarter saw Paly pull away on some hot perimeter shooting. The Vikings scored 16 points in the period, with 12 of those points coming on three pointers.

Resch added the team's fourth three pointer of the third quarter with 26 seconds left putting Paly up 33-22 after three quarters.

"We weren't as aggressive in the first half as we were in the second, but our guys were realizing we were getting the shots we wanted in the third quarter," said Diepenbrock.

The Viking defense remained stellar in the fourth quarter as well. The Wildcats could manage just two field goals in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. Resch connected on another three for Paly with 2:56 left which put them ahead 40-28.