CUPERTINO — In basketball, the tallest, quickest, strongest staff often wins.
However when that staff additionally performs tougher than the opposition, that’s virtually a sure victory. So it was on Friday night time at Homestead Excessive College.
Homestead, which had a definite measurement benefit, additionally was the extra assertive staff, taking cost within the second quarter to construct a 17-point halftime lead. The Mustangs maintained their double-digit benefit from there, cruising to a 71-59 win and enhancing to 4-1 in league play.
“We played really good team basketball,” Homestead coach Matt Wright stated. “Right now, in the last three games, our defensive effort has been really, really good. It’s been awesome. In practice, our bench players who may have not gotten in the game, they have helped us win. What they do to us in practice, the effort that they put in, they’re pushing us to get better every single day.”
Monta Vista’s Stanley Du #21 shoots in opposition to Homestead’s Will Hamburger #22 in an SCVAL basketball sport, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Cupertino, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
It was a energy in numbers kind of night time for Homestead (12-3), which has received its final 4 video games and 7 of the previous eight. Brian Chou led the Mustangs with 30 factors, however Homestead additionally acquired contributions from James Yoshida (9 factors), Kyle McDivitt (eight), Will Hamburger (seven) and Ashton Tam (six).
“Nightly, we play probably nine to 10 (guys),” Wright stated. “They’re the hardest-working bench I’ve ever had in my coaching career. One of our best players (Hamburger) got in a lot of foul trouble tonight, so he had a lower-scoring game. But the guys stepped up and filled the stat sheet where he usually does for us.”
For Monta Vista (10-4, 2-3), Friday’s sport was the continuation of an unlucky development. To ensure that the Matadors to achieve success, they have to excel within the finer particulars of the sport like staff rebounding, outdoors capturing and profitable possession of unfastened balls.
The sport slipped away from the Matadors within the second quarter, when Homestead managed these statistics to stretch its six-point first-quarter lead properly into double digits. Lack of hustle performs has been a recurring downside for Monta Vista of late.
Monta Vista’s Ryan Shen #11 guards Homestead’s Enjun Zhang. #25 within the first quarter of an SCVAL basketball sport, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Cupertino, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
“We’ve been struggling with the physicality part of the game,” MV coach Wade Nakamura stated. “The defensive boards have really been hurting us, and it hurt us in the first half. We’ve been digging ourselves a hole because we have not been getting on the D boards with five people. You just can’t do that in boys varsity basketball. Unless you have a giant inside that can clean the boards, which we don’t.”
Related tendencies occurred in Monta Vista’s latest losses to Saratoga and Fremont-Sunnyvale.
“We have not done that in every game we’ve struggled in,” Nakamura stated. “It happened again today. They had their way with us early, and then we tried to come back. We could never get over the hump. That team can score, you know? They got some seniors. They played confidently. They’re solid.”
Homestead’s Brian Chou #5 attracts contact with Monta Vista’s Stanley Du #21 within the first half of an SCVAL basketball sport, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Cupertino, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
Daniel Ji led Monta Vista with 14 factors, adopted by Stanley Du with 13.
Homestead’s problem shifting ahead will probably be to construct upon the momentum of its sturdy begin in league play. The Mustangs’ solely loss throughout the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s El Camino Division was an additional time defeat by the hands of Saratoga, a sport Homestead misplaced 70-67 on the highway.
“Our goal is to make practice harder than any game, so we feel like we’re confident,” Wright stated. “No matter what defense a team throws at us, we can score against it. We’ve had a couple high-scoring games this year already, and we hope to continue with it. It’s a good year for Homestead basketball right now.”
Homestead’s Ashton Tam #13 drives round Monta Vista’s Sean Fu #32 within the first half of an SCVAL basketball sport, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Cupertino, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group) 
Monta Vista’s Stanley Du #21 drives on Homestead’s Aarav Shah #25 in an SCVAL basketball sport, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Cupertino, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group) 
Homestead’s Michael Hom #3 is guarded by Monta Vista’s Daniel Ji #4 within the fourth quarter of an SCVAL basketball sport, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Cupertino, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
Initially Printed: January 17, 2025 at 11:41 PM PST
