Samo boys' basketball conquers second round of state playoffs

Francesca BillingtonStaff Writer The Samo boys’ basketball team conquered the second round of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division Finals in overtime 76-63 against Palisades High School on Saturday, March 10.According to Erron Vaughn (’13), the team expected an intense game with Palisades, and the team performed very well throughout the game.“I expected it to be a tough, fast paced game because I know [Palisades] plays a similar style of basketball like we do, but the outcome of the game was great because my team pulled out the win and we get to play some more basketball,” Vaughn said.The two teams played very competitively throughout the game, with Samo leading 33-30 at half time. With only four minutes on the clock, Pali was winning by one point. Christopher Smith (’13) was fouled and had two free throws. Smith made the second free throw, bringing the teams into overtime.Samo excelled, picked up 13 points and won the game 76-63. According to Vaughn, the free throws prior to overtime marked the most important part of the game.“The most significant part of the game was [when] Chris Smith went to the free throw line and was able to make one out of two free throws to send the game into overtime,” Vaughn said. “Without that last play, we would have lost the game.”According to guard David Sandoval (’13), the team played together during the entire game, yielding their successful win.“We did a really good job sticking together and pulling out a tough win against a good team,” Sandoval said. “Games will only get tougher and we need to focus one game at a time.”The boys will play in the quarterfinals tonight against Mission Hills High School in the North Gym. Tickets are available at the Vike's Inn during lunch and after school today.fbillington@thesamohi.com