Sharp returns to the lineup, scores 20 as Balers hand Vikings
their first league loss
Hollister – There was simply no way that the Haybalers were going to lose this one.
Earlier in the Tri-County Athletic League season, the Vikings of North Salinas caught the San Benito High boys basketball team on an off-shooting night and they took advantage for a 75-68 win. Since then, the Vikings have managed to take control of the TCAL standings and on Wednesday night, they brought their 6-0 league record to Hollister for the much-anticipated rematch.
Emotion was definitely on Hollister’s side Wednesday. Not only were the Balers fired up to get the win against the TCAL’s top team and avoid losing their third-straight game, Kyle Sharp, the league’s leading scorer, returned to the fold after sitting out those two losses to Live Oak and Gilroy with an ankle injury.
The ankle’s still a little sore but Sharp showed up big time for the Balers, scoring a team-high 20 points, including two big free throws at the end of the game, in addition to playing lock-down defense as Hollister defeated North Salinas 62-59.
“We knew that this was going to be a very big game for us heading into the playoffs,” said Hollister head coach David Kaplansky. “Anytime you’re coming off two losses, it’s nice to see the team pull together and beat a great team like North Salinas. Hopefully, we’re going to continue to get better.”
Hollister’s pressure defense forced a Vikings’ turnover on the game’s opening possession and Danny Isaacson got things started for the Balers with a long two. San Benito’s zone defense continued to frustrate North Salinas, who turned the ball over once again on their second possession. Rodney Ferolino managed to get the Vikings on the board with a score underneath to even things up at 2-2 but Sharp answered with a nice drive that resulted in a three-point play after a foul.
His first bucket out of the way, Sharp really started to pour it on. With the Balers up 9-4 halfway through the first, the Baler forward stuffed a Vikings’ shot in the lane. The Balers missed their first attempt at the basket following the block but Sharp was there for the offensive board and the put back.
This resulted in a North Salinas timeout and the visiting team responded by scoring after the break in action to make it 11-6. But Sharp did it again at the other end, this time collecting his own miss and putting it back up.
The Vikings got as close as 15-14 in the opening quarter but the Balers pulled away with some big shots, including a three-pointer from guard Eric Davis just before the buzzer, to end the opening frame ahead 22-16.
“We just didn’t show up in the first half,” said Vikings head coach Tim Kirkland. “We didn’t play any defense. This team is good with or without Sharp and he showed up tonight. We didn’t work hard in the first half so we had to work even harder in the second half just to try and get the job done. It was a good game though, we had fun.”
Of course, the Vikings aren’t tops in the TCAL for nothing. And, despite trailing 38-24 at the half and 53-43 at the end of the third, North Salinas nearly pulled off the comeback in the fourth.
Ferolino nailed a three to start the quarter but Hollister’s Davis answered with a jumper for two. But North Salinas’ Eric Petty, who led all scorers in the game with 30 points, caught fire in the game’s final eight minutes and, with two minutes to go, the Vikings found themselves down only two at 60-58.
That’s right about when things got very loud. The North Salinas fans, realizing that their team had more than a good shot at stealing the win from the home team, got on their feet every time a Baler took to the free-throw line. And it worked. Hollister couldn’t pull away on their free-throw attempts down the stretch, going just 4-14 from the charity stripe in the game’s final minutes.
So the Balers got it done in transition. With just over a minute to play, Davis found Kevin Jones in the lane with a beautiful pass for an easy bucket. Darryl Baladad hit a big shot, Jones and Colin Parker pulled down some clutch rebounds and in the end, Sharp was able to ice it with two free throws.
“We really came out firing to start the game,” Sharp said. “We really wanted to beat this team and we came out relaxed and playing hard. We got a little lackadaisical late but we picked it up at the end. Everybody on the team did a great job tonight.”
