San Benito battles back from a five-point deficit at the half to
win 61-56 and move into the winner’s bracket of the Bob Hagan
Tournament
Gilroy – Last season’s Bob Hagan Tournament saw the San Benito High boys basketball team fall to the Aptos Mariners by three points in the opening round.
The two teams got together again on Thursday to kick off the 25th annual installment of the tournament and this time around, it was a different story.
The Haybalers followed up their 79-56 win over the Mariners in the Aptos Seascape Classic earlier this season with a hard-fought 61-56 victory over Aptos to move into the winner’s bracket, where they will face Live Oak tonight at 6:30.
“As far as our team effort goes, I thought it was a great game,” said San Benito head coach David Kaplansky. “This is the kind of game that builds character because it went down to the wire and our guys were working hard together, moving the ball around and making good shots. I thought we handled the pressure very well”
It was pins and needles during the game’s final seconds as San Benito’s Darryl Baladad took to the free-throw line with his team up 57-56. Baladad had struggled with his shooting earlier in the game but he calmly made both of his free throws to put the Balers up for good at 59-56.
Baladad’s performance under that kind of pressure brought the Hollister faithful to their feet but it was the team’s play as a whole over the course of the game’s final 90 seconds that made his clutch trip to the charity stripe possible.
Aptos’ #4 had given his team a 56-55 advantage with a strong drive into the paint as the clock showed less than a minute to play but the Haybalers snatched the lead right back on their next drive when Kyle Sharp pulled down an offensive rebound under the basket and put it back in. The see-saw battled continued as the Mariners had a good chance to reclaim the lead on their next trip down the floor but this time, James Williams missed his mark and San Benito’s Kevin Jones was there for what proved to be the most crucial rebound of the contest. Jones’ tenacity on the boards gave his team possession with just 13 seconds left on the clock, forcing a must-foul situation for Aptos and setting the stage for Baladad to seal the deal at the free-throw line.
While the game’s closing minutes saw San Benito rise to the challenge and then some, the Mariners looked like they might have been on their way to avenging the Seascape Tournament loss to the Haybalers in the game’s first half. Aptos’ Broc Carrol seemed to be hitting everything he put up, despite tremendous defensive pressure from San Benito’s Eric Davis and the other Haybalers. At the end of the first quarter, the Mariners had a 17-14 lead but they opened it up a little more in the second quarter and went into the locker room at the break up 32-27.
The Balers came out swinging in the third. Sharp took control of the paint like a man possessed, contesting every shot he could get to and often having to battle with two Aptos players for rebounds. Sharp also had to deal with some very physical defense from the Mariners every time he touched the ball down low. No matter though, he still finished the game with 31 points.
With the end of the game in sight and the lead within San Benito’s reach, Davis stepped up his play also. One minute, the Balers were down by four late. The next, Davis had tied the game up on two free throws after Sharp had got them to within two on their previous possession. Davis apparently wasn’t satisfied with the game being tied up at 51 as he drove hard to the basket on San Benito’s next opportunity, pulling up from 15 feet and nailing a jumper to give his team the late-game lead and, more importantly, the momentum they needed to get the job done down the stretch.
“Eric’s the reason I was able to score tonight,” said Kyle Sharp after the game. “Without him making great passes inside, I wouldn’t have gotten the ball with as much opportunity to score. It was a great game and getting the win feels great. Now we have to go out and face Live Oak, another good team.”
