After going 1-5 in close games last season, the San Benito
Haybalers began this season 1-0 after edging Milpitas 56-55
Tuesday.
MILPITAS
After going 1-5 in close games last season, the San Benito Haybalers began this season 1-0 after edging Milpitas 56-55 Tuesday.
Kevin Burley led the ‘Balers with 14 points and six boards as San Benito caused a turnover in Milpitas’ final possession to steal the win.
“It’s great, especially when you have to travel over an hour, and Milpitas is a decent team,” coach John Becerra said. “It was a good win for us.”
Milpitas called a timeout with 15 seconds remaining and trailing by one. San Benito sought to shut down Milpitas’ two best players, “and luckily,” Becerra said, “we got a turnover with six seconds left.”
It was a back-and-forth second half after a first half that was anything but. San Benito outscored Milpitas 15-7 in the first quarter, while Milpitas returned the favor in the second, outscoring the Haybalers 21-14.
Marty Bueno had nine points, five steals and four assists Tuesday, while Brian Haggett added eight points and eight rebounds. In fact, San Benito had 10 different scorers against Milpitas, a trend Becerra hopes will continue.
“Offense was my concern,” he said, “but I thought what we did well was we had a lot of kids scoring.
“I thought our defense has always been good in the past, and it was good [on Tuesday]. We came in with some energy and some hustle, which may have surprised them a little bit.”
Last season, Milpitas defeated San Benito 57-44 in the season opener.
The ‘Balers (1-0) will play next at the 25th Annual Aptos Seascape Classic on Nov. 29 through Dec. 1.
