‘Balers officially eliminated from playoffs after falling in OT
to Alisal
Hollister – It was a tough final home game for San Benito’s five seniors Friday as the Haybalers scored late to send it to overtime, but ended up losing their Tri-County Athletic League boys basketball matchup with Alisal 55-52.
The loss was the second straight heartbreaker for San Benito, which fell to Alvarez 74-72 on Wednesday. By virtue of this loss, the ‘Balers (8-17, 4-7 TCAL) were officially eliminated from Central Coast Section playoff consideration (teams need either a .500 record in league play or overall).
“They’re battling, they’re working hard,” San Benito coach John Becerra said. “I don’t get upset if we get beat. Both teams worked hard and they beat us.”
Senior Todd Janisch, coming off his 39-point performance against Alvarez, had the hot hand, especially early.
He scored 13 points in the first quarter and the ‘Balers held a 15-13 lead. He added the first four points of the second quarter before senior center Sterling Wilson scored on a putback and San Benito seemed to be in control at 22-15.
But then the shots stopped falling. Alisal (19-8, 5-5) went on a 9-0 run to take the lead at 24-22.
“For a long time there we just couldn’t get a basket,” Becerra said.
Janisch scored his 20th point of the first half to tie it but the Trojans answered and took a 26-24 lead into halftime.
The ‘Balers regained the lead early in the third quarter, with Janisch hitting a pair of buckets in an 8-0 run that made it 32-28.
However, Alisal responded. The Trojans went on a 9-2 burst and took a three-point advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Marty Bueno, who was scoreless in the first three quarter, quickly opened the fourth with a trey to tie it. David DeMateo hit from long range to take the lead and after Alisal stole the lead back, Bueno scored four straight points to make it 44-43.
With the game tied late, the Trojans’ Elias Rivera made a nice drive to the hole to make it 50-48 with 30 seconds remaining.
On the ‘Balers final possession, Kevin Medeiros drove to the hoop but his shot missed. Alisal was in possession for the rebound but lost control of it and Janisch was there for a putback to send it to overtime.
Both teams were quiet in the extra period. Rivera hit a pair of free-throws with 47.4 seconds left to give the Trojans the lead for good. A San Benito jumper with nine seconds left missed and a 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out to seal it for Alisal.
“It seems we have one possession where we turn it over or miss a layup and we don’t think it’s going to hurt us, but in the end it decides the game,” said Janisch, who finished with a game-high 30 points and 10 rebounds.
This was the final home game for Janisch, Medeiros, Wilson, David Bryant and Carlos Ramos, who were all in the starting lineup. The ‘Balers wrap up their season Feb. 16 on the road at North Salinas at 7pm.
“We’re expecting to beat them but we can’t just go in and expect to win, because that’s when you’ll get burned,” Janisch said. “We just need to get past this game and go finish strong.”
Christian Camacho, Alisal’s 6-foot-6 center, paced his team with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Alisal 13 13 11 13 5 – 55
San Benito 15 9 10 16 2 – 52
Alisal – Woo 2 0-2 6, Rivera 4 2-6 11, Lapiton 3 0-0 9, Camacho 5 2-2 12, Ramirez 4 0-0 10, Sosa 2 0-0 4, Mose 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 4-10 55.
San Benito – DeMateo 1 0-0 3, Bryant 1 0-0 2, Bueno 3 0-0 7, Burley 1 0-0 2, Janisch 13 2-2 30, Medeiros 1 0-0 2, Wilson 2 2-2 6. Totals 22 4-4 52.
Three-point goals – Woo 3, Lapiton 3, Ramirez 2, Rivera, Janisch 2, Bueno, DeMateo.
