The wait was on for Robert Louis Stevenson to come out and play
the second half of Tuesday night’s game with Hollister High at
Mattson Gym. After about a six-minute delay, the Pirates sauntered
in.
If they’d only knew what was in store for them, they might not
have bothered.
The wait was on for Robert Louis Stevenson to come out and play the second half of Tuesday night’s game with Hollister High at Mattson Gym. After about a six-minute delay, the Pirates sauntered in.
If they’d only knew what was in store for them, they might not have bothered.
The Balers smothered the Pirates with perimeter and interior defense to motor to a 62-27 cruiser after leading by just 13 points at the half. RLS (1-5) scored just one point in the fourth quarter.
“Defense did it for us,” said Baler head coach David Kaplansky, whose Balers are now 7-1. “And we ran our offense most every time down.”
Kaplansky wasn’t too thrilled at the 2:34 mark of the first period, when he called a timeout to lecture his squad.
“I wasn’t happy with our effort,” said Kaplansky. “We missed a lot of layins and easy shots. We got it going in the second half.”
Hollister, which had a major height advantage, could have made life easier for itself had it converted several layins in the first 10 minutes or so. And in the second period, the Pirates committed 10 of their 27 turnovers, but the Balers only outscored them 15-10 in the period.
After a 14-9 frame in the third, the Balers went to work behind super soph Kyle Sharp and junior center Anthony Butler. The pair combined for 13 of the team’s 18 fourth-quarter points as the Pirates, who were also worn down due to the Balers’ depth, couldn’t hang with the bigger Balers.
“Hollister’s a good squad,” said Pirates second-year coach Francis Banks, who didn’t go overboard about the Balers. “They have 3,000 kids to choose from and we have 550. We took the hour and fifteen minute trip and were flat. We didn’t play the best we could. We ran out of gas.”
Sharp, fresh off being tabbed MVP at the Independence Tournament, finished with 23 points. Butler was steady throughout with 14 points. Guard Broc Sondgroth, who chipped in some flashy assists, ended up in double figures with 10 points.
Stan Hwang showed some good hustle for the Pirates and led them with 11 points.
The Balers will have to finish better when they take on Aptos on Thursday in the first round of the Bob Hagen Classic at Gilroy High. Tipoff is 3:30 p.m. The tourney runs through Saturday.
Baler bits: Baler forward Danny Brooks started the game, but appeared to reinjure his already tender ankle with 4:14 left in the second. Brooks did play in the second half and ended up with six points. – Two of the PIrates’ losses were to Monterey. – The Pirates were 2-of-6 from three-point territory, while the Balers shot once from beyond the arc and missed. – Neither team distinguished themselves from the line. Hollister was 12-of-20, while the Pirates were 3-for-9. – Not a bad crowd as both bleachers were unfolded.
Junior varsity: Hollister 48, RLS 31. The Balers (4-1) were led by Henry Taylor, who had 12 points. Ian Whitelay and Brent Ichien had eight points each.
“It was a good team effort,” said coach Joe Bonurra, in his third season. “We need to work on our execution.”
The Balers lone loss was to Palma in the championship game of the Baler Classic.
The Baler frosh also were victorious and are 8-0.
RLS 7 10 9 1 – 27
Hollister 15 15 14 18 – 64
RLS – Hwang 5 1-2 11, Tiernan 3 0-0 7, Drever 0 0-1 0, Hunter 0 0-2 0, McCoy 1 1-2 4, Jemison 1 1-2 3. Totals 11 3-9 27.
H – Sondgroth 4 2-2 10, Sharp 9 5-6 23, Zanella 1 0-2 2, Butler 5 4-6 14, Brooks 3 0-0 6, Leal 1 0-0 2, Sims 1 0-2 2, Fernandez 1 0-0 2, Leon 0 1-2 1. Totals 25 12-20 62.
3-point goals: Tiernan, McCoy (RLS).
