San Benito loses for only the second time this season as
Monterey takes the championship on a one-point victory over the
Haybalers
Gilroy – Despite being down for all but a few minutes of Saturday’s Bob Hagen Memorial Classic, the Haybalers almost found a way to defeat Monterey for the tournament title. San Benito (8-2) was defeated 58-57, just their second loss of the season.
Monterey (10-1) used a well-balanced shooting attack and defensive pressure to win the championship.
“We played a good team defense,” said Monterey coach Greg Daniels. “It was a game that could have gone either way, but the defense stepped up and we got some big plays when we needed them. We pushed them even after they made a basket so they couldn’t get set up in their zone.”
Monterey had eight three-pointers in the game, including four in the second quarter. On the other hand, San Benito scored all of its points inside the arch with good ball movement and good second looks at the basket.
But despite the barrage of long shots, San Benito outscored Monterey 18-14 at the half to close the gap to 32-30.
“We knew they had three really good shooters,” said assistant coach Clint Quilter, who was taking over for David Kaplansky, who was ejected late in the previous game and was forced to sit out on Saturday. “We were going with a zone and man offense before going with the straight zone. We were a little confused at times and that led to some open looks.”
For the most part, San Benito was able to get a hand up in the face of Monterey’s shooters. But Monterey didn’t need much room for the shots to fall.
After the Toreador hit their final three of the second quarter, San Benito went on a 10-0 run to end the half. With six seconds to go, Eric Davis found Darryl Baladad for a basket.
“We started to break the pressure better,” said San Benito senior Kyle Sharp. “Our zone worked for a little while, but for the most part it was killing us. We’ll work on it this week and be ready to see them again.”
San Benito had several steals at the end of the third quarter and moved within 45-42 after being down by as much as nine points in the quarter.
Monterey missed all three of its free-throw attempts in the fourth to give San Benito life. With 4:50 left, the Haybalers tied the game with a pair of free throws by Sharp. But San Benito quickly fell behind 55-48 after back-to-back three-pointers.
With 1:50 left, Henry Taylor, who had 14 points, found an opening in the paint for the Balers. San Benito tied the score at 55 after Sharp was fouled away from the ball. But Monterey answered right back with a three-pointer.
With 25 seconds left, Sharp had a strong drive to the basket but missed the free throw for a chance at a three-point play. San Benito got the ball back with 18.4 seconds left. After a timeout with 14.8 seconds, Monterey came up with a steal to secure the win.
Sharp, who was selected to the All-Tournament Team led all scorers with 25 points. He had a two-handed dunk in the second quarter on a pass from Eric Davis. Sharp jumped in the air and caught the ball below the basket before slamming it down.
“Any time you lose like that, it is always tough, “Sharp said.” But we’ll just get them back on Thursday. There’s no question we can beat them. There were things that everyone needs to work on and could have done better.”
San Benito is at St. Francis on Tuesday before heading to Monterey Thursday.
