BOYS BASKETBALL: Mills Wins, Draws Burlingame

The Score: Mills 59, Saratoga 43.

The Star: The Mills High defense. The sixth-seeded Vikings laid the groundwork for their second-round victory in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs at the outset, limiting No. 11 seed Saratoga to six points well into the second quarter. Phillip Rognerud helped limit Falcons star Stevie Berman (who had 20 points in a 50-30 win over Mills in December) to 10 points on Thursday night.

The Turning Point: The start of the fourth quarter. Mills led 35-24 heading into the final period, but quickly pushed its advantage over Saratoga (16-10) to 19 points with less than five minutes remaining behind a versatile attack. The Vikings’ top six players all scored as the hosts put the game away with a 24-point quarter.

The Quote: “They’re right next door, and we certainly want a crack at them. … If (Mills players) aren’t excited, they probably don’t have a pulse.” – Vikings coach Rick Hanson, on his team’s quarterfinal date with powerful Burlingame, a natural rival Mills has not faced this season.

What’s Next? Mills (17-9) advances to an anticipated showdown with No. 3 seed Burlingame in the Division III quarterfinals on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. at St. Ignatius. The Vikings have not met Burlingame in the CCS playoffs in Hanson’s eight-year tenure. Burlingame (24-3) won the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division and PAL tournament, while Mills claimed a tri-championship in the PAL’s Ocean Division.

The Bottom Line: Mills, slotted No. 10 in , rebounded from a disappointing early ouster in the PAL tournament and should take plenty of confidence into its game with No. 2 Burlingame. Yes, and have designs on the program’s first CCS championship. But Mills won seven of its last eight regular-season games to clinch a share of the PAL Ocean title and rolled to a comfortable victory on Thursday. The Vikings, a completely different team than last year’s CCS Division III semifinalist, got an important taste of playoff success. Arakel Aristakessian (15 points) led four players in double figures.

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Mills 59, Saratoga 43

S – 6 4 14 19 -- 43

M – 8 10 17 24 – 59

S: Pak 1 0-2 2, Guengerich 2 0-0 5, Jew 0 0-1 0, Nat 6 5-9 20, Dozier 2 1-2 6, Berman 4 0-0 10. Totals: 15 6-14 43.

M: Wong 1 0-0 2, Yim 0 1-2 1, Lew 3 4-8 11, Chew 2 6-6 10, Aristakessian 6 0-0 15, Rognerud 5 1-1 12, Berkovatz 2 3-6 7, Shu 0 1-2 1. Totals: 19 16-25 59.

3-point goals: S: Nat 3, Berman 2, Guengerich, Dozier. M: Aristakessian 3, Lew, Rognerud.

Records: Saratoga 16-10. Mills 17-9.