Gunn Stuns Palo Alto in Overtime
That old cliche about throwing out the records for rivalry games held up.
The Gunn Titans have only beaten crosstown rival Palo Alto twice in 25 years.
But both of those wins have come in the most dramatic fashion possible.
Advaith Krishnan’s Lorenzo Charles-esque putback with 1.6 seconds left in overtime gave the Titans a 65-63 win over the Vikings on Saturday night before an estimated 1,500 fans at Palo Alto’s Peery Family Center.
In 2022, Gunn beat Palo Alto in similarly dramatic fashion on a last-second layup by Rogan Gibbons, whose brother, Charlie, started in Saturday night’s game.
The loss knocks Palo Alto (16-6, 7-3 SCVAL De Anza) out of a tie for the league lead. The Vikings still control their own destiny to win at least a share of the league title, as they close the regular season at home against Los Gatos (16-5, 7-2).
Gunn (11-10, 2-7) is out of the league title race. In fact, the Titans entered Saturday night at the bottom of the SCVAL De Anza standings. But only one of their league losses had been by more than seven points, and four had been by four points or fewer.
“We’ve been fighting this whole season, and I know our record doesn’t really correlate to how good we are,” head coach Brandynn Williams said. “I’m just glad they kept fighting. With high school kids, losing how many we did in a row, they can quit, but these guys didn’t quit. I’m proud of them.”
Ethan Kitch scored a game-high 32 points, including 12 in the second quarter to give the Titans a 36-28 halftime lead, but fouled out with 57.9 seconds left in regulation after a turnover, allowing Jorell Clark to hit game-tying free throws. With Kitch and Nathan Kirner both fouled out, Krishnan found himself on the floor in overtime.
James Ford tried a 3-pointer from the volleyball lines with 4.3 seconds left, and when it came up short, an unmanned Krishnan was there for the putback and his only two points of the night.
"He’s a great rebounder and just a great kid, too,” Williams said of Krishnan.
Without the use of instant replay to figure out how much time was left when Krishnan’s shot went through and when Palo Alto head coach Jeff LaMere called timeout, the referees put two seconds back on the clock. It was enough time for Clark to get off a shot from half-court, but it clanked off the backboard, allowing the Titans to celebrate.
“As someone who doesn’t play in front of a lot of big crowds like that, it’s just super exciting playing in this game,” said Kitch.
While Kitch got his team in position to win, he had to watch the end of his final game against the Vikings from the bench.
“I never ever want to do that again. That was the dumbest play of my entire career,” Kitch said of fouling out. “Obviously, I trust my teammates, but I want to still contribute.”
Ford’s pair of free throws with 33.8 left gave the Titans a 61-59 lead, but Clark drove down and scored with 22.5 left. Ford’s deep 3-pointer with six seconds left missed, and after a Viking turnover on the ensuing inbound, Gibbons tried to channel his brother’s heroics. His 17-footer missed, sending the game to overtime.
Without Kitch on the floor, Palo Alto’s defense returned to the form that held Los Altos to 31 points for an entire game and Milpitas to just 33 earlier in the week. Aidan Hangebrauck made two free throws with 2:44 left in the extra period, and Gunn didn’t score until Ford’s and-1 with 30.8 left. He missed the potential go-ahead free throw, but Hangebrauck missed a pair of attempts at the other end after he was fouled on the rebound. That set the Titans up for the final shot, and when Ford missed, Krishnan was there to save the day.
He was an unlikely hero on a night that Kitch otherwise dominated. He hit an early three to stake the visitors out to an 11-4 lead, converted an and-1 with 2:11 left in the second to make it 29-21 and hit a heat check three a minute later to give the Titans their first double digit lead at 34-23. After Ford scored six straight to restore momentum that Palo Alto had taken away on a Clark dunk, Kitch hit two more threes to bring his total to 25 and put Gunn up 52-41.
“Every possession, you just try to find the seam,” Kitch said. “Make a move, react, figure out what you’re comfortable with. Every defender has different tendencies, and you have to find out what they jump at and what they don’t jump at.”
His 3-point play with 6:25 to go in the fourth quarter gave Gunn a 55-49 lead after the Vikings had closed to within three on a Tyler Wong basket. His drive with 5:59 left made it an eight-point game and gave him an even 30 points, and he scored his final two on a pair of free throws with 5:17 left to make it 59-51.
Palo Alto fought back, though. Gavin Haase scored with 5:02 to go, and Clark drew Kirner’s fifth foul and made both free throws with 4:17 left. Haase fed Alaap Nair for a layup with 1:23 left, and after a Kitch turnover, he fouled Clark on a fastbreak attempt with 57.9 on the clock.
Clark scored a team-high 25 points, fueled by a 12-for-15 showing on free throws. Palo Alto shot 37 free throws, with Gavin Haase going 9-for-12. Haase finished with 18 points and five assists. Gunn shot just 19 free throws and was whistled for 27 fouls to the Vikings’ 15, a point of contention with the visiting fans.
“I guess a lot of fouls get called on us,” Williams said. “Maybe we’re a little handsy.”
Clark also had a game-high 16 rebounds and a pair of dunks that ignited the home crowd. The first put an end to Gunn’s game-opening 11-4 run, and the latter followed a Riley Yuen three and Haase steal to trim the deficit to 40-34.
“Jorell is ridiculous,” Kitch said. “He can jump out of the gym. Being able to play our game against a team like that and not get flustered was the key.”
In addition to Kitch’s big night, the Titans got 12 points from Ford and eight from Kirner, who also had eight rebounds. Gibbons scored seven, and Krishnan finished with 10 rebounds and the two biggest points of the night.