Hollister went after it in the interior. Palma went after it
from beyond the arc.
SALINAS – Hollister went after it in the interior. Palma went after it from beyond the arc.
In a battle of wills, the Balers survived 54-47 at Palma in your typical Tri-County Athletic League game where it’s never over til it’s over.
“I almost had a heart attack,” said one parent of a Baler player after the game.
Presenting the mighty T-CAL. Don’t leave home without your nerve pills.
“Every game’s a dogfight,” muttered Baler head coach David Kaplansky late in the third period, echoing one of his favorite mantras.
The win for the Balers (18-4, 4-1) meant they stayed a game back of frontrunner Salinas (5-0), which defeated North Salinas 69-61 at home Tuesday. In Gilroy, the Mustangs fell behind against Live Oak and could never catch up, losing 55-46.
The Balers, who played extremely well Tuesday night, will have to play at least that well to defeat the revenge-seeking Acorns in Morgan Hill this Friday at 7 p.m. Their female counterparts square off in a preliminary at 5:30 p.m.
Back to the Chieftains (10-8, 2-3), who were in a quagmire on the offensive end in the first period as the Baler defense stifled them pretty good. And on offense, the Baler big men went inside early to score 14 of their 17 first period points. Guard Broc Sondgroth hit a three-pointer for the remaining digits as Hollister, playing a near-perfect period, led 17-6.
Hollister surged to a 22-8 lead at the beginning of the second period and had the Chieftains on their heels. But the Chieftains decided to trade three’s for two’s and the strategy worked.
Nick Cava hit back-to-back three’s to slice the lead to 22-14. Tony Hazdovac poured in two more three-pointers and the Balers’ advantage was 27-22. Baler forward Kyle Sharp, who had 14 points, banked in a jumper late in the half and the Balers took a 33-26 edge into the locker room.
Hazdovac kept it up in the third period with a trey and a runner and the comeback was nearly complete as the Balers led just 33-32.
Up two at the start of the fourth, Sondgroth cashed in his final three points of the evening. Baler guard Eric Davis then embarked on his best eight minutes of basketball at the varsity level. Davis, adeptly handling the Chieftains’ man pressure, dished to Anthony Butler for a hoop. He then fed Butler once more for another basket, stole the ball and made a nice pass to Sharp, who was fouled.
Meanwhile, the Chieftains plodded along and hung with the Balers behind seven fourth period points from Kellen Griffen, who led the team with 17 points. Down three with seconds ticking down, Griffen cast off from three-point land and rimmed off a shot. The Chieftains gathered in the long rebound and Patrick Delorey missed another three attempt to tie the score.
Davis ended up with the loose ball and was fouled with 16 seconds left. He hit both ends of a one-on-one, then netted two more free throws with 9.8 seconds left on the game clock to preserve the Baler victory.
“I’ve been hitting my free throws in practice,” said Davis, who showed good poise for a sophomore. “We played with confidence tonight. We knew were going to win. They shot themselves back into the game with three’s. They weren’t beating us.”
As for Butler, he finished with a game-high 18 points and was a major force down low for the Balers.
“I challenged Anthony before the game to play the best game he’s played all season,” said Kaplansky. “He did. This was a great win for our team. I had never beaten Palma in this gym as a coach or as a player. I don’t know if we’ve ever won here before.”
Also playing one of his best games was Baler forward Danny Brooks. Brooks had eight rebounds, four on offense to go with 10 points. Brooks was a bundle of energy when the Balers needed it the most. Sharp was also tough to contain for the Chieftains and had eight boards, as well.
“Hollister’s a good team,” said Delorey. “We tried to deny the entry pass, then help out down low. It took us awhile to get going, but we finally did.”
“Palma’s a well-coached team,” said Kaplansky. “They play smart basketball and play hard.”
Baler bits: The Chieftains hit 6-of-18 from beyond the arc, the Balers 2-of-7. –Â Hollister had 15 turnovers to the Chieftains’ 11. –Â The Balers may have won this game on the line with 12-of-16 shooting to the Chieftains’ 5-of-9. There’s your seven-point differential.
JV score: Palma 57, Hollister 33. The Balers (9-9) had eight points from Peter Prak and six points from Jeff Hawks. The Baler frosh lost to Palma.
Hollister 17 16 7 14 – 54
Palma 6 20 12 9 – 47
H – Sharp 5 4-7 14, Butler 8 2-3 18, Sondgroth 2 0-0 6, Brooks 5 0-0 10, Davis 0 4-4 4, Zanella 0 2-2 2. Totals 20 12-16 54.
P – Cava 2 2-3 8, Hazdovac 6 0-0 16, Griffen 7 3-4 17, Soto 1 0-2 2, Malvini 1 0-0 2, Marquez 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 5-9 47.
3-point goals: Sondgroth 2 (H); Cava 2, Hazdovac 4 (P).
