The second quarter proved to be devastating for the San Benito boys basketball team late Thursday and it lost to Salinas on the road 60-49 in Tri-County Athletic League play.
After a slow-paced first quarter, in which the Haybalers were scoreless for the first 5 1/2 minutes, the Cowboys held an 8-6 advantage.
But Salinas outscored San Benito 24-10 in the second period to take a 16-point lead into halftime.
“That just killed us,” ‘Balers coach John Becerra said. “We missed shots and turned the ball over and they got easy layups.”
Salinas pushed the lead to 48-29 after three quarters before a solid fourth quarter allowed the ‘Balers to make the final score respectable.
The loss prevented San Benito (8-13, 4-3) from taking over sole possession of second place from Gilroy (14-7, 4-3), which fell to Palma 58-56 on Thursday.
The road gets tough for the ‘Balers next week, as they host the first-place Chieftains (18-2, 7-0) on Wednesday before squaring off at home against the Mustangs in a critical league encounter.
Todd Janisch paced San Benito’s effort against Salinas with a game-high 19 points. R.J. Pua led the way for Salinas with 13.
San Benito 6 10 13 20 – 49
Salinas 8 24 16 12 – 60
San Benito – Ramos 2-0-4, Medina 1-2-5, DeMateo 0-1-1, Bryant 1-0-2, Bueno 0-1-1, Burley 1-4-6, Janisch 9-0-19, Medeiros 2-1-5, Wilson 1-2-5, Zanela 0-2-2. Totals – 17-13-49.
Salinas – Toney 3-1-7, Pua 3-6-13, Perry 1-0-3, Davis 0-2-2, Ostrander 4-0-10, Vasher 3-2-8, Cerney 4-4-12, McKenzie 1-2-5. Totals – 19-17-60.
