Kevin Zanella said he was nervous before his winning lay-in off
an inbound with five seconds left went down.
Kevin Zanella said he was nervous before his winning lay-in off an inbound with five seconds left went down.
Danny Brooks said the team just “came together.”
Hollister High head coach David Kaplansky said simply, “It’s like someone is watching over us.”
In one of the most thrilling basketball games in Mattson Gym history, the suddenly defensive-oriented Haybalers out-physicalled storied St. Ignatius on their way to a 39-37 Central Coast Section Division I victory Wednesday night.
The win puts the 7th-seeded Balers (21-7) in the quarterfinals versus No. 2 seed Serra (20-5) Saturday at Santa Clara High at 4:30 p.m. The Padres were co-champs of the West Catholic Athletic League.
The Balers nearly got burned badly at the buzzer when the Wildcats’ Joe Toboni had his off-balance desperation three-pointer go off the backboard and rim off as the buzzer sounded. Seconds ticked off before Baler fans and players celebrated. They must have been pinching themselves. They had survived a doozy.
It was a remarkable victory for the Balers, considering starting guard Broc Sondgroth still wasn’t 100 percent after battling the flu. Plus, first guard off the bench Jeff Fajardo didn’t play due to his thoughts resting with the loss of his brother, Sean Miranda, who lost his long bout with leukemia. Fajardo watched the game from the Baler bench dressed in street clothes.
“We dedicated the Independence Tournament to Jeff’s brother and we won that,” said Kaplansky. “We dedicated the game (tonight) to Sean again and the kids found a way to do it. It’s been a great story for our team that every time we’ve faced this adversity with Fajardo and his family we seem to pull off these awesome victories.”
For 16 minutes, it seemed the victory was going to be even more awesome. The Balers, trapping hard out on the perimeter and in the corners with 6-foot-6 Kyle Sharp, 6-4 Anthony Butler, 6-4 Brooks and 6-4 Zanella, wreaked havoc on the Wildcats’ half-court set. The result was just an 11-point output for SI, a season-low.
“Give Hollister credit,” said Wildcats coach Don Lippi. “We rushed our shots. It was good defense by them. They trapped our corner passes. Hollister’s a nice team.”
The Balers even ended the half with a flurry. Gilbert Rubio made a steal at midcourt and went the other way for a deuce. As seconds ticked down, Sharp, who had six of his eight points in the first half, hit a 15-foot jump shot for 23-11 Balers as the two teams headed into the locker room.
The Wildcats (15-12), who were chilly for much of the first half, warmed up. Using a feisty half-court trap of their own, the Wildcats forced the Balers to get sloppy with the ball. Kevin Christensen nailed a trey and then Toboni hit two straight baskets and the ‘Cats were down just 29-24 after three periods.
Sondgroth fed Butler for a lay-in and Butler, who shared scoring honors with Toboni with 14 points, was fouled on the play. He converted the free throw for 32-24. The Balers had, for the moment, stabilized. St. Ignatius, which had been rotating in players like a revolving door to keep them fresh, had other plans. Chris Dowdy popped in a three-pointer and the ‘Cats were down just four. Max Mizono’s jumper cut the lead to one. Mizono’s steal and hoop put SI amazingly ahead 36-35.
Sharp hit two clutch free throws with 1:45 left and the Balers surged ahead, but Toboni hit the front end of two free throws and the game was tied 37-37.
Kaplansky burned his last time out with 47 seconds left to set up a play. The Balers attempted a shot from the perimeter which missed. But Hollister got the rebound with 13 seconds left. The ball went inside to Butler, whose shot was tied up for a jump ball. Possession Balers.
Hollister, which turned the ball over on two previous inbound plays from underneath, saved the best for last. Zanella, who about the third option, took a pass on the weakside and banked it in.
The rest is history.
Can the Balers beat the Padres? That would be even more history.
“They have a chance against Serra,” said Lippi, whose team competed against the Padres in the WCAL. “They have to stop No. 13 – Kochevar. He comes off the pick and he can shoot. He’s very quick.”
Kaplansky has a couple of days before he has to stop the 6-2 Andrew Kochevar, flashy 6-2 swingman J.J. Cannizaro and 6-3 stalwart Vic Esposto. The Padres aren’t seeded second for nothing. But first, allow Kaplansky time to savor this one. He’s now 1-0 in CCS games.
“This win is just unbelievable,” said Kaplansky. “To win in front of the home crowd. The fact we let ourselves down in the loss to Palma Friday night. When you beat a WCAL team, what can you say?”
How about which way to Santa Clara High?
Baler bits: Only one Hollister team has advanced past the quarterfinals. That was in 1998 when the Balers were eliminated by D-1 champ St. Ignatius in the semifinals. – Sondgroth hit a three-pointer in the second period and was fouled on the play, but he missed the free throw. – The Balers shot fairly well from the line, 12-18. A telling stat: SI was 5-of-12 from the free throw line. – Sharp had eight rebounds, all defensive. Butler had four defensive boards.
St. Ignatius 4 7 13 13 – 37
Hollister 11 12 6 10 – 39
SI – Mizono 4 1-2 9, Toboni 6 2-3 14, Lopez-Low 2 1-3 5, Szarnicki 1 0-0 2, Chris Dowdy 1 0-0 3, Christensen 1 0-2 3, Mitchell 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 5-12 37.
H – Sharp 3 2-3 8, Butler 5 4-5 14, Sondgroth 1 0-1 3, Brooks 2 1-2 5, David 0 4-5 4, Zanella 1 1-2 3, Rubio 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 12-18 39.
3-point goals: Christensen, Dowdy (SI); Sondgroth (H).
