Evan Shapiro continues to stay hot for Christopher. The senior led the Cougars boys basketball team in scoring for the second straight game, putting up 13 points in a 43-34 win over Lincoln in the Consolation Championship game of the Los Gatos Wildcat Shootout Friday. Three players — Josh Wheat, Adam Bravo and Miika Smith — put up eight points in the game while Chad Hartman had six. The win improves the Cougars to 3-1 on the season. Christopher will be back in action at 5 p.m. Thursday to take on Aptos in the Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament at Gilroy High School.  Mustangs fall in home opener If the Gilroy boys basketball team had to name one thing that hurt it Friday, it would be turnovers. The Mustangs had more than 15 turnovers in their 56-35 loss to Monterey in their home opener Friday.  Gilroy only went 2 for 5 from the line and was only able to hit one of its six 3-point attempts.  The Mustangs only trailed by one, 16-15, after the first quarter but were held to single digits for the remaining three while Monterey was able to put up 11, 18 and 11 points in the second, third and fourth, respectively.  Gilroy will look to rebound as it hosts the 34th Annual Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Thursday vs. Anzar — a team it beat 64-34  on Dec. 10.  GIRLS BASKETBALL Cougars take third in Watsonville Tourney Cydney Caradonna put up a career-high 30 points for Christopher Saturday. The senior led the team to a 66-41 win over San Benito in the third place game of the Watsonville Tournament. Caradonna was named to the All Tournament Team for her performance through the three days.  Christopher held the Balers to just 15 points in the second half while putting up 40 points of its own. Dejah Raoof and Haley Romero complemented Caradonna with 10 points each.Â
After suffering a heartbreaking loss the day before, the Christopher boys basketball team wanted to be sure that didn't happen again. Four Cougars scored in double digits, helping their team to a 69-49 win over Del Mar Thursday at the Los Gatos Wildcat shootout. Christopher had lost by just one point, 70-69, in double overtime in the tournament opener and had to win to stay alive. Senior Evan Shapiro and junior Josh Wheat led the charge for CHS by both scoring 14 points in the game.  Senior Shane Suttles added 11 points, while junior Chad Hartman put up 10. Christopher (2-1) will continue play in the tournament at 5 p.m. today against Lincoln in Los Gatos for the Consolation Championship.  GIRLS BASKETBALL Christopher wins nailbitter  Talk about a close one. The Christopher girls basketball team fended off a 16-point fourth quarter burst from Pacific Collegiate to win 48-47in the opening round of the Watsonville Classic Thursday. The Cougars led 34-31 heading into the final quarter and were outscored by their opponents. Luckily for CHS, its lead was just enough to escape PC.  Christa Arroya hit four 3-pointers in the game and led the attack with 18 points. Dejah Raoof had 11 points — included two 3-pointers — and Cydney Caradonna scored 10.Â
First-year Christopher High boys soccer head coach Ricardo Espinosa demands unwavering commitment from his players. He has preached the importance since Day 1. So when certain members of the team showed little interest in attending practice on a consistent basis during the two-week winter break, Espinosa re-iterated his stance, benching the offenders for much of the first half in the Cougars' Monterey Bay League opener Wednesday in Gilroy.