Hollister
– Tri-County Athletic League squads not known as the Haybalers
beware, the San Benito High boys basketball team is picking up
momentum like a snowball rolling down the side of a mountain. And
they don’t look like they’re going to slow down anytime soon.
Hollister – Tri-County Athletic League squads not known as the Haybalers beware, the San Benito High boys basketball team is picking up momentum like a snowball rolling down the side of a mountain. And they don’t look like they’re going to slow down anytime soon.
They Haybalers improved their record to 14-2 with a 72-54 win over visiting Seaside on Wednesday. The Spartans, now at 6-8, are a team that is far more talented than their overall record would indicate. They’ve lost close games to tough teams like Palma and North Salinas this year and, on Wednesday, they came to town looking for a big win to get them on a roll going into their final preseason game against Live Oak later this week.
But going into the San Benito High gym and getting a victory is a tall order to fill.
Given the fact that San Benito starting guard Eric Davis, who has been outstanding lately, was on the bench after twisting an ankle in practice on Tuesday, the Spartans might have figured that their own guards were going to have less to deal with both defensively and offensively in his absence.
Not quite.
Just when it seemed like all of the opportunities to throw around the word ‘character’ to describe the Haybalers’ players had run out, guard Vince Bautista stepped up and turned in a great performance. The amazing thing about Bautista’s showing on Wednesday is that he played while dealing with a sinus infection.
“I thought he did a great job for us tonight with Eric out,” said San Benito head coach David Kaplansky. “Seaside does a good job of pressuring the basketball and I thought that Vince did a great job of ball faking and hitting Kyle (Sharp) in the middle of the floor and taking out their press.”
Bautista not only did a great job of handling the ball for the Balers, he got the team’s scoring started with a three-pointer early in the first to give his team a 3-2 lead. They never trailed after that.
Kyle Sharp was his usual, unstoppable self. After a flurry of non-calls from officials after being hacked time after time on his drives, Sharp responded with a flurry of his own, coming in the form of a clip of baskets underneath the hoop. In the third quarter, Sharp went five-for-six from the field and three-for-three at the line for 13 points.
The Balers took control of the game in the third. Danny Isaacson started things off with a long two-pointer before Sharp turned in a three-point play after taking a great dish from Henry Taylor to the hoop and getting fouled in the process. Sharp’s next score, a great drive into the paint with a finger-roll finish, put the Balers up 47-32.
The Spartans, who were led by Luke Murrell’s 12 points off of four three-pointers, found themselves down 58-45 going into the fourth quarter and were forced into shooting the longball in an effort to climb back into the game.
But San Benito wasn’t giving anything up on the parameter or on the glass. And by the two-minute mark, coach Kaplansky once again had the luxury of getting his bench players quality time on the court against a Seaside team that was still doing everything it could to make the finish respectable.
“I think we’re playing very good basketball right now,” Kaplansky said. “We’re consistent, we’re winning by decent margins and the kids are playing very hard defensively. There’s still so much that we can improve on but I think that if we continue to work hard in practice, we can take it up another level.”
League play opens up January 14 when Monte Vista Christian comes to town. And if San Benito manages to improve much more over its current level of play, things could get scary.
