As the fifth seeded team, the Haybalers will have a tough road
ahead to win a Central Coast Section championship.
As the fifth seeded team, the Haybalers will have a tough road ahead to win a Central Coast Section championship.
The Baler boys basketball team (20-6, 9-1) starts its quest on Saturday against No. 4 Menlo-Atherton. The game is at 4:30 p.m. and will be played at Santa Clara High School.
“The kids have been working hard,” said coach David Kaplansky. “We have had some good practices this week. But it has been a long week. Ever since they won the conference, you can see their confidence has increased.”
Menlo-Atherton (21-5, 10-2) finished tied with Woodside, Burlingame and Aragon for the Peninsula Athletic League South Division title. The Bears are 7-0 this season at home.
San Benito has outscored Menlo-Atherton 1574-1521 despite playing one less game.
The Balers won at home in their first playoff game last year against St. Ignatius, but were worn out by the time they played Serra on Saturday, Kaplansky said.
This year, San Benito has all week to prepare. But so does Menlo-Atherton.
“We’ve really been focusing on the fundamentals especially defensively this week,” Kaplansky said. “If we can play a better defense, we can wear them out. We’ve been working on their 1-2-2 pressure. North Salinas has a similar defense, so I think it will help to prepare us.”
The Bears may have a slight advantage playing in a tougher league. But the Tri-County Athletic League has not been a pushover this year either.
“The leagues are pretty similar,” Kaplansky said. “They both have quality teams. It should help prepare both teams for Saturday’s game.”
The Bears are headed by second-year coach Craig Carson. A big part of their success this year has come from their half-court pressure and from the post play of 6-foot-5 senior Dan Trautman.
Another tough player, the Balers will have to watch our for is Eric Peterson, a 6-foot-2 linebacker on the football team. But the Balers also have their own height in 6-foot-6 Kyle Sharp and 6-foot-4 Anthony Butler
“With height like they have, you have to keep them off the boards,” Carson said. “We can’t let Sharp and Butler beat us.”
The Bears are coming in to the game looking anything but golden. Several players are either sick or banged up. But even so, the game will probably be decided in the final minutes.
“Record-wise and height-wise, we look pretty similar,” Carson said. “It looks like we are two similar teams. It will come down to who gets some breaks, who hits their shots and who plays better defense.”
