Hollister Haybalers well represented at 19th annual Kiwanis High
School Basketball Classic
Salinas – The good people at Hartnell College are likely busy ordering new rims for their basketball court following Saturday’s 19th annual Kiwanis High School Basketball Classic.
With the likes of two-time TCAL MVP Kyle Sharp of Hollister, along with Austin Swift and Cliff Sammet of the state champion Santa Cruz squad, all on the court at the same time playing for the North team, Saturday’s game between the North and South all stars featured a lot of above-the-rim action.
The contest was also highlighted by great assists from Hollister point guard Eric Davis and Santa Cruz’s Junior Russell, as well as some clutch shooting.
In the end, it was the North who came out on top, 108-82.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Hollister’s Sharp, who finished the game with 19 points. “It was my last high-school game and I was glad to go out like that.”
Sharp and Swift, who also scored 19 in the game, will be playing together next year at the University of Montana.
While Sharp spent most of the game battling down low with the likes of North Salinas’ Eric Petty and Pacific Grove’s AJ Walker, Hollister’s Davis was putting on a show of his own within the team’s transition game.
When he wasn’t pulling up for mid-range jumpers, Davis was dazzling the crowd with his passing ability as well as his ability to instantly change direction with the ball, often times leaving his defender going the other way as he drove into the lane.
With about a minute left to play and the North team well ahead, both teams decided to abandon their defensive play, which had been fairly intense for an all-star game all day long, and cleared the way for the high flyers.
Some of the dunks that ensued looked like they could have been on display in an NBA arena during early February.
Sharp threw down a two-hander, North Salinas’ Marco Ramos soared for a through-the-legs reverse and Eric Petty got way up for a couple of one-handers. Once the game had officially ended, fans gathered around the perimeter and watched more dunks from the high-flying stars.
“It was fun and it’s always nice to win,” said North coach Bud Ogden, head coach at Gilroy High. “But you can really see how that Santa Cruz team was able to win state. Those kids are very talented and they play very well together.”
The girls’ game didn’t go so smoothly for the North squad. Given the fact that the team’s roster was put together only a little more than a week ago, many players simply couldn’t attend, like Gilroy’s Amanda Link and Kendall Costa.
This coupled with the fact that the team was only able to practice together twice, might have played a part in the North’s 77-40 loss.
Not only was San Benito High’s Al Rowe coaching the team, five Balers were selected to the squad and at one point in the game, they were all on the floor together, holding their own against the South and the likes of Jessica Ross and Britany Plummer of Notre Dame.
Anzar High’s Erika Rodriguez turned in a big performance on Saturday as she led the North in scoring with 10 points.
For the Hollister athletes, Jaime Hall led the way with five points, Jaime Flores had four, Crystina Osborne had three and Dani Andrewson had two.
“It was something else,” said Rowe of Saturday’s game. “What a good experience. The two practices that we had were just awesome practices. You don’t have to repeat yourself at all, they already had a good concept of what it was they needed to do and they went out there and did it.”
