Gilroy dominates for three quarters, then loses control down the
stretch
After dominating play for more than three quarters, the Gilroy
High boy’s basketball team came down like a house of cards Tuesday
night against Branham High School.
Before a shocked home crowd, the Mustangs, who led by as many as
12 points in the fourth quarter and by five with 1:30 remaining,
still managed to lose 65-54 in overtime.
Gilroy dominates for three quarters, then loses control down the stretch
After dominating play for more than three quarters, the Gilroy High boy’s basketball team came down like a house of cards Tuesday night against Branham High School.
Before a shocked home crowd, the Mustangs, who led by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter and by five with 1:30 remaining, still managed to lose 65-54 in overtime.
“We were trying not to lose instead of playing aggressive on the offensive end and not looking at the score,” said frustrated Mustang Coach Mike Baumgartner after the game. “We were just too passive down the stretch.”
The 2-5 Mustangs also made several forced errors in the closing minutes.
After the Bruins cut the lead to five points, Gilroy succumbed to the pressure, turning the ball over on three consecutive possessions.
Branham was able to capitalize on the Mustangs mishaps by scoring three easy lay-ups at the other end of the floor to take a 1-point lead, which would have given the Bruins a regulation win had it not been for a clutch free throw by Gilroy’s Erik Tollison in the closing seconds.
In overtime, however, Tollison’s bucket at the line did nothing to spark his teammates as Gilroy continued to struggle in the four-minute quarter. In fact, in overtime, Gilroy continued its mishaps and turned the ball over five times, which resulted in easy Bruin scores.
“Our defense was non-existent in overtime,” said Baumgartner. “We just kept allowing them to get easy lay-ups.”
That was the case most of the night.
Even when Gilroy had the lead early on, Branham kept scoring easy lay-ups.
“We’d take 25 seconds off the shot clock,” said Baumgartner. “Then we would break down defensively and Branham would eventually have an easy lay-up.”
Despite the loss, Tollison scored 15 points and had five rebounds to his credit. Center Blair Wortham had four points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Josh Gravell and Kyle Loving had eight points apiece for the Mustangs.
Gilroy is currently hosting the Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament, which runs through Saturday. Although league play is still two weeks away, rivals Live Oak and Hollister are playing in the event.
Prior to the start of the tournament, Baumgartner said that the 7-1 Acorns, with their huge size, would be the favorite to win the annual tournament.
“They’re playing well and they’re big,” said Baumgartner. “Every shot that goes up is their ball. But we can play with anybody. We just have to be more aggressive for four quarters and play a lot better team defense. Our philosophy is always to limit our opponents offensive opportunities.”
