Balers must focus on CCS despite defeat

Hollister High, already Central Coast Section-bound, felt the
brunt of a Palma team, which had to win to guarantee a trip to the
CCS Division IV playoffs.
A team with its back against the wall is dangerous.

Hollister High, already Central Coast Section-bound, felt the brunt of a Palma team, which had to win to guarantee a trip to the CCS Division IV playoffs. A win and the Chieftains were in. A loss and they would have had to petition to get in for they would be below .500 overall.

The Chieftains gritted their collective teeth on defense, denying the Baler interior players and pressuring Baler point guard Eric Davis as he brought the ball up court, making it tough for him to run the offense.

The strategy worked to perfection.

The Balers, who were missing starting guard Broc Sondgroth who was out sick, struggled offensively in the half-court set in a 48-38 defeat in front of a packed house at Mattson Gym. The 38-point total was the Balers’ lowest output of the season.

Hollister (20-7, 6-4 Tri-County Athletic League) takes its first two-game losing streak of the season into the CCS Division I playoffs when it hosts 10th seed St. Ignatius (15-11) this Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Chieftains (12-11, 4-6) are the 9th seed in Division IV and are at No. 8 seed Gunderson (12-14) this Wednesday.

“Our players felt a sene of urgency,” said Chieftains coach Josh Nielsen. “We came here to compete. We knew we had to do it on the defensive end. This was a big win for us. We’ve been close, but we’ve never been able to get over the hump.”

The Chieftains did an outstanding job on the Balers’ leading scorer, Kyle Sharp. Sharp had just nine points, his last three points coming on a desperation trey from the corner when the Balers were scrambling to come from behind. Not having Sondgroth, the Balers’ best perimeter shooter available, was just what the doctor ordered for Neilsen.

“Without Broc, we were able to double down more on Sharp,” said Nielsen.

The Balers had a huge size advantage and head coach David Kaplansky went real big to start the game. Besides Davis and the 6-6 Sharp, Kaplansky sent out 6-foot-4 Anthony Butler, 6-4 Danny Brooks and 6-4 Kevin Zanella. The ploy was to jumpswitch the best he could on the Chieftains’ adept three-point shooters – Tony Hazdovac, Kellen Griffen, and Nick Cava – and have the big guys dwarfing them out on the perimeter.

The Chieftains, who live and die by the three, were kept in check in the first half in that department, netting just one. However, strong man Michael Soto was busy hurting the Balers inside. Soto had eight of his 10 points in the first 16 minutes as Palma led 19-16 at the intermission in a low-scoring first half.

The third period was fairly ragged as neither team could get any continuity going on offense with seven turnovers each. The Chieftains, though, hit three of their six three-pointers. The Balers closed out the period with a steal by Jeff Fajardo who looked ahead to Gilbert Rubio for a layin as the buzzer sounded.

The large Baler crowd sensed a comeback as their favorite team trailed 31-24 entering the fourth quarter. In an absolutely huge swing, Hazdovac drained a three from the left corner. He immediately stole the inbound and made a layin. Whatever momentum the Balers had with Rubio’s hoop was out the door as the Chieftains forged to their biggest lead at 36-24.

Hollister was particularly sloppy with ball as it turned the ball over three times within a 1:22 span forcing Kaplansky to call timeout. Kaplansky had get smaller and extend pressure the length of the court. It actually rattled the Chieftains as they had trouble bringing the ball up court.

Zanella converted a three-point play with 4:35 left and the Balers weren’t officially done, yet. Hazdovac, though, responded with his third three-pointer of the night with 2:35 remaining to stem the Balers’ comeback. Rubio hit a 15-foot jumper at the one minute mark and the Balers were down eight.

Sharp’s high-arcing three brought the Balers within 43-38 with 33 seconds to play, but that was as close as the Balers would get.

“Palma did a nice job of rotating defensively,” said Kaplansky. “We had a lot of open looks, but we couldn’t put the ball in the basket. I don’t know what really else to say. Not having Broc hurt us on the perimeter. Palma knew it and did a good job of taking advantage of it.”

Baler bits: The Balers were 8-of-18 from the free throw line, 44 percent. Palma was 12-of-19, 63 per cent. – Hollister turned the ball over 20 times to the Chieftains 22. – Sharp and Brooks had six boards each. – The Chieftains were 6-of-15 from three-point land, while the Balers were 2-of-9. – In a 54-47 win at Palma, the Balers had 33 points in the first half alone. – Senior Nadine Ceja was named homecoming queen.

JV score: In one of the Balers’ better efforts, they defeated the Chieftains 43-40 in an exciting contest.

Frosh score: Palma 45, Balers 37. Coach John Becerra praised Karson Klauer for a “tremendous all-around performance.”

Palma 7 12 12 17 – 48

Hollister 6 10 8 14 – 38

P – Cava 1 0-0 2, Hazdovac 4 0-1 11, Griffin 1 4-5 7, Delorey 1 0-0 3, Malvini 2 2-4 6, Soto 3 4-7 10, Marquez 2 2-2 6, Toste 1 0-0 3. Totals 15 12-19 48.

H – Sharp 3 2-6 9, Butler 1 2-4 4, Davis 1 0-0 2, Brooks 3 0-1 6, Zanella 1 1-1 3, Fajardo 0 2-3 2, Rubio 4 0-0 9, Fernandez 0 0-2 0. Totals 14 8-18 38.

3-point goals: Hazdovac 3, Griffin, Delorey, Toste (P); Sharp, Rubio (H).