For 25 games, the San Benito boys basketball team lived and died on strong, aggressive defense and 3-point shooting. In the team’s biggest game of the year – the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals – one piece of that winning formula went missing.
Pressured by an intense and tireless defense, San Benito struggled to find open shots from 3-point range, and was eliminated from postseason play in a 46-34 loss to Piedmont Hills on Wednesday.
The loss ends the Balers’ most successful season in nearly a decade with a 19-7 record, and the high school careers of leading-scorer Jordan Belton and starter Isaiah Acfalle.
Despite the 12-point margin of defeat, the game’s opening moments couldn’t have gone much better for the Balers.
Forcing a couple of turnovers, San Benito raced out to a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes. Brian Becerra punctuated the opening flurry with a 3-point dagger that stunned the Piedmont Hills-heavy crowd.
But the game changed dramatically from there.
Piedmont Hills responded quickly by forcing three-straight turnovers from Becerra. The Pirates capitalized on the Baler mistakes and raced to a 20-2 run. “The beginning of the game is just the beginning of the game,” San Benito head coach David Kaplansky said of the momentum shift.
“They hadn’t settled their defense yet. But once they settled in, they seemed to get a little comfortable on defense, and they did a nice job running out and taking away our perimeter shooting.”
Hyram Miskin, who led the Tri-County League in 3-point shooting with 59 baskets, couldn’t find an open shot throughout the night. The sharpshooter attempted three shots and scored no points.
It was only the second time all year Miskin failed to score.
“That was a big key,” Piedmont Hills head coach Pete Simos said. “He is a heck of player and a heck of a shooter. They are a great team. They are hard nosed. They are well coached. I’m so impressed.”
To slow down the Balers’ second-leading scorer, Piedmont Hills kept one defender on him at all times. The defender rarely looked at the ball and squared in on Miskin. When San Benito ran a set play, Miskin was shadowed closely.
“They did a good job contesting shots,” Kaplansky said. “They did a nice job defending us. It was a good gameplan. They seemed to know a lot of our sets. They took us out of a lot of things. They were really aggressive with their hands and they just did a nice job.”
Acfalle, the Balers’ second-best 3-point shooter, didn’t hit a long-range shot as well.
“They were just bellying up,” Acfalle said. “They were really good at closing out and making sure it was difficult for us to drive and take our shots. They really did a good job of slowing us down and making us play at their pace. It was very physical.”
As the two Balers who averaged a combined 22 points during the year scored two points, Belton controlled the offensive attack.
The senior scored a game-high 15 points and scored much-needed points at vital times for San Benito. But the Pirate defense, which limited the outside shot, was the biggest difference in the game, Kaplansky said.
“It was big. We’ve been a good perimeter shooting team all season; however, tonight we couldn’t even get a look out there,” Kaplansky said. “They really did a good job of defending the perimeter.”
The Pirates slowly pulled away from San Benito, extending their lead after every quarter.
Defensively, San Benito played as well as it had all season, Kaplansky said. The Balers contained leading-scorer Andrew Nwachukwu to 10 points but allowed bench-player Eros Mendoza to find open shots. The junior scored 12 points, including two first-quarter 3-pointers that brought the Pirates back into the game.
“They were fantastic all season long,” Kaplansky said of his team. “Tonight, we played great defense. We held them to a low amount of points. The kids battled, and recognized where their scores were coming from. I was real proud of their defensive effort. They were solid all year long with their defensive effort.”
The physical and defensive game forced both teams to turn the ball over throughout the night. The difference, though, was Piedmont Hills eventually made its long-range shots and the Balers couldn’t. In the game, the Pirates hit six 3-pointers, while San Benito hit a season-low two.
Belton attributed the offensive struggles to the inexperience with the game’s physicality.
“They play physical,” Belton said. “This league in San Jose is physical. The refs let you play. I don’t think we really know .. we haven’t really played that. That was the key. That really hurt us. That didn’t allow us to get into a rhythm. Everyday in practice he told us but I don’t think it was to the point in the game.”
And when San Benito got an open look, they were out of rhythm.
“There was some open looks but we didn’t get our rhythm so it wasn’t a fluid shot,” Belton said. “We didn’t feel like it would go in.”
Overall, though, the team was proud of its season.
“I think we came far,” Belton said. “Last year, we lost on Thursday’s game. This year we went to the final four. We accomplished a lot of things this year. If there was a team I want to play for, it would be this team. I would take this team over any team. The kids on this team work so hard. We are real close and we knew each other so well. It was a fun time playing with them.”
Kaplansky said the team worked hard and continued to get better with each game.
“I was real proud of this team and that I took the job,” he said. “It was a real privilege to the be their coach. They are more than basketball players – they are quality young men.”
