San Benito will play Watsonville at 3 p.m. on Saturday in
consolation game of Seascape Classic at Aptos
APTOS
Dominic Zanella delivered his third double-double performance of the season and the San Benito Haybalers outscored the Gilroy Mustangs 42-21 in the first half en route to a 63-53 victory Friday at the 26th Annual Seascape Classic in Aptos.
Zanella had 14 points and 14 rebounds in the 10-point win, which sends the ‘Balers to Saturday’s consolation game against Watsonville. Tip-off is at 3 p.m. in Aptos.
Kyle Vallejo and Tyler Rickard each had 10 points for San Benito, which evens its season record to 2-2. Eric Elayda had seven points and three assists for the ‘Balers, while Tim Von Urff had six points and three assists.
Gilroy’s Elijah Harrell led all scorers with 22 points.
San Benito head coach John Becerra said his team didn’t do anything differently in the first half, which included a 21-9 second quarter in favor of the ‘Balers.
“We just played our normal game,” Becerra said. “They played a man (defense), then a full-court zone press and we broke it pretty easily for some easy baskets. We played with a lot of intensity and that makes the difference sometimes.”
In the second half, Becerra said, San Benito didn’t play with the same patience as they had in the first half, which provided the Mustangs with some easy baskets off turnovers.
Gilroy outscored the ‘Balers 32-21 in the second half, but it simply wasn’t enough to make up the difference.
The win for San Benito follows a 48-38 loss to Gunn in the opening round of the Seascape Classic.
Although Friday’s victory came against a league rival in Gilroy, Becerra was more pleased with the win itself, and not necessarily which team it came against.
“Every win right now is big to qualify for CCS,” Becerra said. “This is just as big as any other win we’ve got.”
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
GL 12 9 11 21 53
SB 21 21 5 16 63
San Benito (63) – Gillies 4 0 0 8, Vallejo 3 0 4 10, Von Urff 1 0 4 6, King 1 0 0 2, Elayda 0 1 4 7, Canchola 1 0 0 2, Rickard 2 1 3 10, Corral 2 0 0 4, Zanella 3 0 8 14.
