This year, the boys basketball team has lived beyond the 3-point line, hitting nearly 150 3-point shots in 24 games. Wednesday was no different.
Behind nine 3-pointers, San Benito avenged its early-season loss against Alvarez, with a dominating 59-39 win over the Eagles on Wednesday.
From the beginning of the second quarter, the Balers put on a 3-point shooting clinic with six players hitting from outside the arc.
“When someone hits a 3-pointer we all feel confident … when we all hit, we get on rhythm and it creates a snowball effect,” forward Hyram Miskin said. “It just builds up.”
The game started slow and close for the Balers, as the first eight minutes saw San Benito take only a 10-9 lead. But in the second quarter, San Benito pulled ahead for good. Led by Isaiah Acfalle, who scored a game-high 16 points, San Benito hit five 3-pointers in the second quarter to jump ahead with a 21-point quarter.
At the onset of the second quarter, the Balers – sparked by a quarter-opening Acfalle 3-pointer – struck for 11 straight points. The quick scoring streak gave the Balers a daunting 12-point lead, and the Eagles would never pull closer.
“It was good to get back at them for that loss on our home court,” center Jacob Tonascia said. “We came out to a little slow start but things started clicking and we started rolling.”
The Baler offense was on such a roll, even Tonascia fired from 3-point range.
“We made shots and when you make shots, you can win a lot of games,” Kaplansky said. “These guys have played defense well all year long but we have struggled offensively. These guys have had their moments – teams are going to go through that. Tonight, the shots went in and it gave us a nice gap.”
In the same quarter, the Balers switched their defense from a zone to man-to-man, forcing rushed shots, and slowing the Eagle attack.
“We wanted to go zone at the beginning and get a feel for their personnel and see where they are going to strike from,” Kaplansky said. “They settled from the 3-point line tonight and they started hitting some. So we switched to a man and with the man I thought we did a really good job tonight.”
With the Eagles playing without leading scorer Ronald Turner, the Balers turned their attention to slowing down point guard Will Camel, Kaplansky said. In the man-to-man defense, the Balers stuck with the shifty Camel.
“I thought the guys did a good job of recognizing where their points were coming from,” Kaplansky said. “Early on they were giving up a lot of high post looks, but once we switched to a man we were able to eliminate a lot of the looks they were getting early. It was a big reason why we switched to the man.”
Seven Balers scored in the victory, including 12 points from Tonascia and Miskin.
But the Balers relied on Acfalle to get much-needed points throughout the night.
“During warm-ups, coach came up to me and told me if you’re open, shoot the ball,” he said. “We’ve been yelling at you to go to the basket but if you’re open shoot it. And I did. Once I hit my first 3-pointer, everyone just fed off each other. We didn’t want it to end.”
The victory gives the Balers, who own a 9-3 league record, a second-place finish in the Tri-County Athletic League and an overall mark of 18-6.
The Balers open the Central Coast Section playoffs next week. San Benito will find out the day of its first game Sunday.
Kaplansky expects the team to continue its season-long growth in the playoffs, he said.
“We have great experience in the playoffs as a coaching staff,” he said. “We’ll get the kids playing their best ball in the playoffs.”
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