Falcons, Cougars fall in opening round of league tournament

Scotts Valley
At halftime of the opening game of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League boys basketball tournament, the Scotts Valley Falcons were tied at 28 with the St. Francis Sharks. 
Scotts Valley was out to avenge a 50-26 loss to St. Francis on Feb. 1; however, the Sharks exploded offensively in the second half on their way to a 70-55 win.
It was the fourth quarter that proved to be the Falcons’ undoing.
With just over six minutes left in regulation, the Sharks were ahead by three points at 50-47, and St. Francis guards Will Burkett (26 points) and Aiden Mathews (16 points) willed the Sharks to victory. 
“We did everything we could,” said Scotts Valley head coach Charles Burks. “I felt we played a great game, but they pulled away from us there at the end.”
The Sharks limited the Falcons’ leading scorer, Jack Pasquini, after a stellar first half. By double-teaming Pasquini, the Sharks held him to 24 points scored. Twelve of those points came from the free-throw line.
The Falcons finished the regular season 4-8-0 in league play and 11-14 overall.
Burks said the team had made the Central Coast Section playoffs on the back of a strong preseason record. The tournament will be seeded Sunday, Feb. 19, however, which will determine whether the Falcons reach the CCS playoffs for the first time in school history.
St. Francis moved on to play the regular-season SCCAL champion Santa Cruz Cardinals in the semifinals at Scotts Valley High on Thursday, Feb.16, the results of which were unavailable by press time.
San Lorenzo Valley
The San Lorenzo Valley High School boys basketball team was bounced from the SCCAL playoffs by the Soquel Knights, 73-55, on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
Eric Lange was SLV’s leading scorer with 16 points.
The team, which is unlikely to make the CCS playoffs, finished the season at 7-20 overall, including 3-10 against league opponents. Standout players included Lange, Billy Mullins, Trevor Patterson and Lucas Trader.