San Benito earns second place in TCAL with 63-48 win over North
Salinas Friday
Hollister
Two days removed from toppling Palma from its perch, the North Salinas Vikings entered Hollister’s Mattson Gym Friday looking to steal second place from the San Benito Haybalers.
But the closest the Vikings got to earning a piece of the second-place pie was its narrow one-point lead at halftime, as San Benito wrapped up second place outright with a 63-48 victory.
It may have seemed to have been just another season-finale game between two postseason-bound teams, but there was a little bit more at stake Friday night, as the Central Coast Section playoffs commence next week.
“It’s a big win for the seeding purposes,” coach John Becerra said. “I’d say it moved us up to probably the sixth-seed.”
After North Salinas defeated Palma 44-43 on Wednesday, the Vikings had a chance to tie San Benito for second place with a win. If that had happened, both teams would have had matching records, with North Salinas earning the better seed due to the fact that they beat Palma.
Luckily for Hollister fans, that won’t happen.
The ‘Balers had 10 different scorers Friday with Tyler Ruiz leading the way with a game-high 16 points. Tim Von Urff had nine on the night, and added eight rebounds and four assists. Brian Haggett contributed eight points and 10 rebounds for the ‘Balers.
Victor Sapp led the Vikings with 15 points, while Spencer Quinczy added 10.
With Senior Night activities taking place before the game, both teams seemed to struggle at the start to find their shot.
Using a press and a 2-2-1 zone defense, though, the Vikings forced eight first-quarter turnovers on San Benito and jumped out to an early 14-8 lead.
But the ‘Balers battled back in the second, and finished the quarter on an 8-3 run to cut North Salinas’ lead to just 21-20 at the break.
“In the first quarter, we turned the ball over too many times,” Becerra said. “But in the second quarter, we were a little more settled and controlled. In the second half, it was no problem.”
San Benito only took a two-point lead to the fourth quarter, and had just a three-point lead after Haggett drained a trey with five minutes remaining.
But down the stretch, the ‘Balers not only capitalized on North Salinas’ missed jumpers, but shot 12 of 18 from the line in the final stanza.
San Benito shot 22 of 53 from the field for the game, 7 of 11 in the fourth quarter. The Vikings shot 16 of 61 for the game, 4 of 17 in the fourth.
San Benito, which finishes their regular season at 9-3 in the TCAL, 19-8 overall, will now await the CCS seedings on Sunday.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
NS 14 7 13 14 48
SB 8 12 16 27 63
NS (48) – Quinczy 3-7 3-3 10, Sapp 5-11 3-5 15, Ramos 2-12 0-0 5, Mosley 3-8 0-0 7, Moran 2-8 3-4 7, Martinez 0-5 1-5 1, Jensen 0-1 1-2 1, Bandy 1-1 0-0 2.
Three-point goals: Quinczy 1, Sapp 2, Ramos 1, Mosley 1.
SB (63) – Silva 1-4 0-0 2, Bryant 1-1 0-0 2, Bueno 1-4 5-6 7, Burley 1-4 3-6 5, Callagher 1-1 0-0 2, Canchola 2-2 0-0 5, Haggett 2-8 3-4 8, Ruiz 7-15 2-2 16, Von Urff 3-5 3-6 9, Zanella 3-6 1-4 7.
Three-point goals: Canchola 1, Haggett 1.
JV Note:
The San Benito junior varsity team defeated visiting North Salinas 59-47 Friday at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
“We played a really good game,” coach Mitch Burley said.
The ‘Balers scored 22 points in the third quarter after beng up just five points at halftime.
San Benito finishes their regular season with an 18-10 record.
Frosh Note:
The San Benito freshmen team defeated North Salinas Friday night at Mattson Gym in Hollister, although no score was reported.
As a result of the win, though, the frosh squad completed a perfect 12-0 season in the Tri-County Athletic League.
