Sharp turns in another big performance with 35 points, Baladad
adds 14 as the Balers improve to 13-2
Hollister– Winning games by 40 points is nice but San Benito boys’ basketball coach David Kaplansky knows that having the opportunity to get everyone on the team involved is even better.
The Haybalers continue to roll through opponents, their latest victory coming on Monday night at home in the form of an 81-41 drubbing of the James Lick Comets to improve to 13-2 on the year.
“With the way we’ve been competing in practice and in games, I felt that this was a very winnable game for us,” Kaplansky said. “It was just a matter of how our first group was going to perform so that we could start rotating guys in.”
And on Monday night, the opportunity for coach Kaplansky to sit his starters arrived pretty early in the fourth quarter with his team up 65-35. This resulted in quality minutes for all 15 members of the squad.
And they weren’t meaningless minutes against a team that was playing as if it was already beaten. The Comets never gave up, as was evident by Nester Ortiz hitting the floor hard midway through the fourth in an attempt to grab a loose ball for James Lick.
But for all of the heart that the Comets showed against a bigger, more athletic San Benito squad, they simply couldn’t find a way to slow down the up-tempo game that the Balers bring to the court.
When San Benito gets into its transition game, they’re tough to contain. With 15 games now in the books for the 2004-05 season, guard Eric Davis is really coming on with his passing talents. He seems to be on the same page with all of his teammates and almost always delivers a good pass to the open man. And when the team gets running, his ability to eyeball defenders off of his true target before a no-look dish as he slices into the lane creates easy opportunities for others.
“He’s making good passes and he’s able to break down defenses,” said Kaplansky of Davis’ play. “I think the main thing is, as long as guys sprint the floor, we can make those kinds of passes because we have a lot of options. When you get five guys all running the floor, you can usually catch a defense on their heels or not really set in their half-court defense and I think Eric’s taking advantage of reading the defense and making nice plays.”
There were plenty of nice plays Monday night on the hardwood at the San Benito High gym. Kyle Sharp put on another crowd-pleasing clinic on his way to 36 points, following a 35-point performance last Thursday in the team’s home opener against Pacific Grove, a 75-54 win.
Sharp scored the Balers’ first seven points of the game, pulling the team out of a 4-0 deficit to start the contest, including a demoralizing dunk following a James Lick turnover.
The Comets took a 6-5 lead before a score down low from Sharp gave San Benito a one-point edge. But then the wheels started to come off for James Lick.
Davis stole the inbounds pass that followed a Comet time out and finished at the other end with a sweet no-look pass to Henry Taylor underneath for an easy bucket. And on James Lick’s next possession, Davis’ suffocating defense forced a backcourt violation. The result was a Kyle Sharp three-pointer at the other end that caught nothing but net and put the Balers up 12-6.
Things continued to go San Benito’s way in the opening quarter. Both Sharp and Taylor were working hard down low to score and rebound while Davis kept harassing whoever was unfortunate enough to be bringing the ball up the court for the Comets.
And then Darryl Baladad checked into the game.
Baladad scored the first time he touched the ball, an easy bucket coming off a nice assist from Davis. But he followed it up with another score after James Lick turned the ball over on its ensuing possession, resulting in coach Tyrone Monroe calling a timeout. But after that timeout, the Comets once again fell victims to the San Benito defense as they turned the ball over, resulting in another two points for Baladad at the other end.
Steve Huerta’s three-pointer at the end of the first quarter saw the Haybalers up 28-17.
Sharp was on the bench for much of Baladad’s scoring fest to close out the opening quarter, so when he took to the court for the second, his legs were fresh.
That spelled more trouble for the James Lick defense.
Following another open look and easy bucket from Taylor, courtesy of a laser-beam pass from Davis, and then a Baladad jumper, Sharp got above the rim and flushed one home to give the Balers a 36-23 edge. Moments later, Sharp drove, scored and was fouled for a play that put three points on the board.
Another Sharp dunk came on San Benito’s next possession, followed by another James Lick turnover that ended on the other end of the court with Davis lofting the ball up high in front of the rim for Sharp to go up and get. He got it in perfect position and then proceeded to throw it down with two hands for his third dunk in as many minutes.
Things didn’t get any easier for the Comets in the second half as they came out of the locker room down 45-28.
The Balers continued to apply pressure in the second half, jumping out to a 65-35 before the quarter ended, highlighted by yet another Sharp dunk, this time the assist came off of the backboard from Huerta in transition, more than enough to get the crowd on its feet.
San Benito’s bench added to the lead in the fourth quarter as the Balers went on to victory. The team is back in action Wednesday against Seaside, 7pm at home.
