Palo Alto’s Jorell Clark #12 shoots over Los Altos’ Colin Chou #30 and Manu Shankar #20 in the 4th quarter of a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League boys basketball game, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, in Los Altos, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
LOS ALTOS — Palo Alto got off to a hot start, knocking down 8 of 10 shots in the first quarter, and was never seriously challenged Friday in a 61-49 victory over Los Altos
Palo Alto (11-3) concluded the first week of Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division play 2-0, in first place in a division that appears to be extremely balanced and competitive. All seven teams were at .500 or better in non-league play.
Jorell Clark, a 6-foot-1 junior and the son of Stanford head track and field coach J.J. Clark, got Palo Alto off to the fast start, scoring 10 of his game-high 26 points in the first quarter, which ended with Paly up 17-10.
“He’s a special player,” Palo Alto coach Jeff LaMere said. “I think he’s one of the better players in the section. He can score the ball, he can shoot it and drive. He’s a great athlete and a tremendous teammate. He not only leads us in points and rebounds, but also in assists. He plays the game the right way.”
Clark scored most of his points around the basket and was particularly effective in transition. He had two breakaway dunks.
“Overall I feel I’m at a pretty good spot,” Clark said. “I just want to continue improving on all aspects of my game.”
Junior point guard Gavin Haase, the son of Stanford men’s basketball coach Jerod Haase, made three 3-pointers and scored 14 points.
Palo Alto led by 11 at halftime and extended the lead to as much as 19 at 45-26 in the third quarter after a fastbreak layup by Alaap Nair.
Los Altos (7-6, 0-2) cut into Paly’s lead in the fourth quarter and a 3-pointer by Colin Chou brought the Eagles within 54-47. But that was as close as they would get.
“They are a little bit ahead of us,” Los Altos coach James Reilly said of Palo Alto. “Maybe a little bit more experienced. We have some guys who transferred in and guys who have been hurt. I don’t think we’re that far off.”
Christian Saric, in only his second game after transferring from Mitty, led Los Altos with 14 points. Manu Shankar scored 11. Chou scored 9 points in limited minutes. He was seeing playing time in his fourth game after returning from a leg injury that kept him out for a month.
“We’re trying to manage his minutes,” Reilly said. “He’s not ready for 20 to 25 minutes a game. (Chou and Saric) are both juniors, but they can be good now instead of waiting until they’re older.”
