San Benito wins their second straight game, eye rematch with
Alvarez Thursday
HOLLISTER
The San Benito High boys basketball team is quickly closing the 0-4 hole they opened the Tri-County Athletic League with after they staved off visiting Salinas 47-45 Tuesday at Hollister’s Mattson Gym – San Benito’s second straight victory.
The Cowboys closed a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to just a single point with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. But on Salinas’ final two shot attempts that would have all but sealed a victory, one was blocked by Dominic Zanella and the other missed and was hauled in by Tyler Rickard.
San Benito is now 2-4 in the TCAL and are suddenly eyeing a very manageable field in front of them. Palma lost their first game of the season to Gilroy on Tuesday, Everett Alvarez has lost three straight to sit at 2-4, and four teams are knotted with 3-3 records in league.
The Haybalers can make it three straight on Thursday when they visit Everett Alvarez in Salinas. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Defense was the name of the game for San Benito on Tuesday, though, as they held Salinas to just 45 points, including a first and third quarter where the Cowboys only scored eight points combined.
Earlier this season in the championship final of the Condor Christmas Classic on New Year’s Eve, the Cowboys easily defeated San Benito 67-51.
“This time was did a super-job defensively, especially on [Eric Neal] and [Kyle Vasher],” San Benito head coach John Becerra said. “We tried to focus on them, and I thought we did a lot better this time.”
Neal had a game-high 13 points and Vasher added 10 on Tuesday, compared to the combined 40 points the two dropped on San Benito Dec. 31.
The Haybalers had eight different scorers Tuesday but not one deposited double-digits. Tim Von Urff and Jason Canchola each led San Benito with nine points, while teammates Zanella and Eric Elayda pocketed eight points apiece.
Zanella also pulled down seven rebounds and Elayda had three assists.
Favoring the zone defense, as well as the occasional half-court trap to throw off Salinas’ timing, San Benito jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first quarter, but only led 26-24 at halftime after the Cowboys mounted a second-quarter comeback.
In the third it was all San Benito, though. Von Urff scored five of his team-high nine points in the third, while the ‘Balers closed the quarter on an 8-1 run to build a 38-28 lead.
Salinas only converted one field goal in the third and committed four turnovers, but the momentum quickly shifted in the fourth as the Cowboys implemented a 1-3-1 defense and scored five points in the first minute to cut San Benito’s lead in half.
Later, though, when Salinas trailed 42-41 with more than three minutes remaining, Elayda hit 1 of 2 free throws from the line, then sunk a big 3-pointer to push the ‘Balers back up by five and snap a 6-0 run by the Cowboys.
Salinas came all the way back again, aided by San Benito’s seven turnovers in the quarter, but simply could not make the basket that would have supplied certain victory.
“The fourth quarter kind of rattled us a little bit,” Becerra said. “They were getting more physical in the fourth quarter, sometimes it was the wrong pass to make, sometimes we’re just too young and we don’t have the physicality. It’s a learning process.
“But we stuck it out and we won, which is good.”
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SALN 4 20 4 17 45
SANB 12 14 12 9 47
San Benito (47) – K. Vallejo 2 0 1-2 5, T. Von Urff 2 1 2-4 9, C. Sepulveda 1 0 0-0 2, E. Elayda 2 1 1-2 8, J. Canchola 1 1 4-4 9, T. Rickard 0 1 2-2 5, I. Corral 0 0 1-2 1, D. Zanella 4 0 0-0 8.
