Santa Clara Extends League Streak to 80 by Topping Nordhoff

Will Santa Clara High ever lose again in league play?

The question has burned in the minds of Frontier League basketball coaches since 1984, the last time the Saints wound up on the short end of a league score. That defeat was administered by Nordhoff, which Santa Clara faced Tuesday night on the road in a showdown of the league’s undefeated teams.

Led by senior forward David Varela, who scored a career-high 31 points, Santa Clara left with its streak intact, defeating the Rangers, 66-59, before about 1,000.

The Saints (15-5, 4-0 in league play) ran their winning streak in league play to 80 games. But don’t bother longtime Santa Clara Coach Lou Cvijanovich with such numbers. As a matter of fact, he could care less.

“That’s the last thing I have on my mind,” said Cvijanovich, whose teams have won four consecutive Southern Section titles. “I’ve got much more important things to worry about. The kids played a good game, that’s what I’m concerned about.”

Nordhoff Coach Dick Sebek believes the Saints might lose a league game--he’s just not sure when.

“I think they will eventually be challenged, but I’m not sure when it will happen,” Sebek said. “Someone is going to have to play a solid game for 32 minutes against them to do it.”

The Rangers did play a solid 16 minutes.

Santa Clara held only a two-point lead (26-24) at halftime, thanks in large part to swingman Mark Sebek, the coach’s son. Sebek scored 15 points in the half (31 in the game) and played strong defense.

Varela, who also had 10 rebounds, led the Saints on a 10-2 run to open the second half as the Saints took a 36-26 lead with 4 minutes 18 seconds to play in the third quarter. Varela made three three-point field goals in the quarter (six in the game) to help the Saints take a 44-39 lead into the game’s final eight minutes.

Sparked by Sebek, the Rangers (8-6, 2-1) made a charge in the fourth quarter. He made a three-point shot to cut Santa Clara’s lead to two (57-55) with two minutes to play. But that was a close as the Rangers would get.