Gilroy mounts nine-point comeback in fourth quarter, edges San
Benito 44-43 Thursday night
HOLLISTER
Gilroy High led for all of two minutes in Thursday’s showdown at Hollister’s Mattson Gym, and somehow it was enough.
After Greg Hamik’s 3-pointer to open the game, the Mustangs went exactly seven minutes without scoring a basket and allowed San Benito to jump out to a 13-5 first-quarter lead.
“Everybody was really nervous before the game and we just didn’t come out to play in the first quarter,” said Hamik, noting the rivalry between the two schools. Hamik led all scorers Thursday with 18 points, while he pulled down eight boards and had four steals and four assists.
“After the first quarter, coach was like, ‘We need to pick up our intensity, otherwise we’re going 0-4 in league,'” Hamik added. “We stepped it up from there.”
Slowly, surely, Gilroy chipped away at the Haybalers’ margin – which was as many as 12 at one point – and mounted a furious nine-point comeback in the fourth quarter to steal a 44-43 victory from the hands of Hollister.
“Turnovers in the fourth quarter at critical times,” said San Benito head coach John Becerra when asked what the difference was in the game. “They went to the line way more than we did in the fourth quarter, and especially in the second half. They drove to the basket and we fouled them, and they called fouls on us.
“But if we don’t turn the ball over in those critical times, then we’re OK.”
In a game that came down to free throws, though, the Mustangs were 16 of 21 overall, including 8 of 10 in the fourth quarter alone, and plucked victory away from San Benito in a bout between two winless teams.
Gilroy, now at 1-3 in the Tri-County Athletic League, tied the game at 43-all with 40 ticks left in the fourth when Michael Aldridge drained a pair of free throws. Seven seconds later, after San Benito turned the ball over on the in-bounds, Dolapo Opere made 1 of 2 from the stripe to supply the Mustangs with a one-point edge.
During the final 15 seconds, which all of a sudden mimicked an on-your-feet section playoff game, San Benito lost control of the ball twice before Kyle Vallejo’s game-winning attempt went off-target. But sophomore Cooper Sepulveda corralled the rebound and was fouled on the play, setting up a 1-and-1 opportunity with 2.3 seconds left.
Gilroy High head coach Jeremy Dirks used all four of his remaining timeouts in an apparent attempt to ice Sepulveda, who missed the front end of the 1-and-1.
But the recent junior varsity call-up said it had no affect on him, whatsoever.
“I was fine,” Sepulveda said. “I just missed it.”
Although Sepulveda missed the first shot, San Benito had one last-ditch effort when the ball went out of bounds on Gilroy. The ‘Balers tried an in-bound alley-oop with eight-tenths of a second remaining, but the attempt missed.
San Benito, which has lost three one-point games this season, including two in a row now, falls to 0-3 in the TCAL.
“I’m sure it would have been a monkey off of coach’s back, too,” said Dirks, referring to San Benito’s John Becerra. “It was something we really needed. You can kind of say, hey, ‘We can win one.’ I don’t have illusions of grandeur that were gonna be first in league, but I believe we’re competitive every game.
“Hopefully it will rejuvenate them for North Salinas and Palma.”
Dominic Zanella led San Benito with 10 points and Eric Elayda chimed in with nine. Gilroy’s Elijah Harrell had eight points and teammate Opere had six points and 14 rebounds.
Not too much strategy was changed by either team since the last time they met on Dec. 5, when the ‘Balers downed the Mustangs 63-53 at the Seascape Classic in Aptos.
But, at least defensively, Gilroy changed from a zone to a man-defense in Thursday’s game after San Benito opened the first quarter with a 13-0 spurt. The ‘Balers went up by 12 points early in the second quarter on baskets from Jason Canchola and Sepulveda, but Gilroy closed the gap in the second stanza behind seven points from Hamik.
The Mustangs trailed 25-22 at the half.
“It bothered us,” Becerra said of the man-to-man defense. “We couldn’t get open on offense adequately enough. I told them, we have to dictate the tempo instead of going helter-skelter when they put pressure on us like that. We’re just not adapting to it.”
Sloppy play by both teams was theater in the third quarter, as San Benito and Gilroy combined for 12 turnovers. The Mustangs were limited to just a single field goal in the period as well, but the down play clearly didn’t affect Gilroy’s mad rush in the fourth quarter, which had the team trailing 36-27 to start.
“The kids were more aggressive, more defensive-oriented,” Dirks said of the final period. “I think it was just our energy. We started pressuring it up and finally the ball started falling into the hoop – kids were going to the hole.”
With Gilroy going to the line 21 times Thursday, San Benito only managed a 2 of 8 performance from the free throw line, yet shot 38 percent (19 of 50) from the field.
The ‘Balers (8-9) will visit Palma on Tuesday, while Gilroy will play at North Salinas.
“We didn’t get to the free throw line enough,” Sepulveda said. “We’re just not executing. Eventually, the wins will come.”
Notes:
San Benito committed 15 turnovers in the game … Gilroy shot 24 percent (13 of 54) from the field … Gilroy committed 17 turnovers … Gilroy’ Hamik left the game with 7:40 remaining in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury, but returned with 6:10 remaining … San Benito’s Vallejo also left the game with an injury midway through the third, but later returned … The Haybalers have played in six games this season that have been decided by two points or less. They are 2-4 in those games … San Benito’s bench outscored Gilroy’s 21-10.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
GIL 5 17 5 17 44
SAN 13 12 11 7 43
Gilroy (44) – M. Aldridge 1-6 2-2 4, G. Hamik 7-22 2-3 18, E. Harrell 2-5 4-4 8, T. Hartman 0-6 2-2 2, M. Hartman 2-8 0-0 4, J. Jensen 0-3 2-4 2, D. Opere 1-2 4-6 6.
Three-point goals: G. Hamik 2.
San Benito (43) – J. Hunt 1-1 0-0 2, J. Canchola 2-6 0-0 4, E. Elayda 3-9 1-2 9, C. Sepulveda 2-6 1-3 5, T. Rickard 3-5 0-0 7, T. Von Urff 1-2 0-0 2, K. Vallejo 2-7 0-0 4, D. Zanella 5-13 0-3 10.
Three-point goals: E. Elayda 2, T. Rickard 1.
JV Note:
The Gilroy High junior varsity basketball team defeated San Benito 54-47 Thursday night at Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
