No. 6 San Benito cruises to 61-44 victory, will face No. 3 Serra
in CCS playoffs
It didn’t necessarily start out the way San Benito wanted it to, but then again, it did.
In what turned out to be a rather rollercoaster-like first quarter, the San Benito boys basketball team built a 19-3 cushion in the opening period and cruised to a 61-44 victory over visiting Independence Thursday at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
With their second-round win in the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, the Haybalers will advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal match against No. 3 Serra (17-10).
“We came out and executed very well on offense,” coach John Becerra said. “We just tried to execute and do the same thing we’ve done throughout the year.”
San Benito will likely be playing without the services of Tyler Ruiz, however, as the forward went down approximately two minutes into Thursday’s game with a sprained ankle.
He did not return to the game.
Becerra said Ruiz, who was averaging 10.39 points per game, is doubtful for Saturday’s contest against Serra, which will be played at Independence High School in San Jose.
Finding a spark off the bench, though, Jason Canchola filled in for his injured teammate and dropped 10 of his team-high 13 points in the first quarter.
“He filled in and did a tremendous job,” Becerra said. “Not only did he score, but they tried to post him up and I think he did a good job.”
Independence, which opened the game in a man defense, could not stop San Benito in the first eight minutes. Seeking to make the extra pass on almost every possession, the ‘Balers seemingly had an open shot near the basket, and capitalized with a 19-3 first-quarter lead.
Marty Bueno had 12 points, five assists and four steals, while Kevin Burley added 12 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Brian Haggett had nine points, five rebounds and three assists.
Independence switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense for the remainder of the game and managed to slow San Benito down. Although the 76ers forced 11 ‘Baler turnovers in the second and third quarter alone, they could not make up enough ground to overcome the poor first quarter.
“When they changed defenses, it kind of bothered us a little bit,” Becerra said. “But once we got a big lead … we just tried to run the clock out and I think we did that well.”
On one particular possession early in the fourth quarter, San Benito passed the ball in and out, eating up much of the 35-second shot clock. And with the clock ticking down on the possession, Haggett hit a 3-pointer from the corner that pushed San Benito’s lead to 16.
The Sixers struggled in the fourth stanza, too, shooting 6 of 20 from the field and 1 of 8 from the line.
The win pushes San Benito to Independence High School on Saturday where they’ll meet Serra, which was ranked No. 3 in the latest poll by the San Jose Mercury News.
“They’re tall. They’re big. They’re outstanding,” Becerra said.
No game time was listed at press time. Log on to www.cifccs.org/playoffs/basketball for more information.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
SB 19 11 11 20 61
IND 3 15 11 15 44
SB (61) – Bueno 1 2 4 12, Burley 5 0 2 12, Callagher 0 0 2 2, Canchola 5 1 0 13, Haggett 2 1 2 9, Medina 1 0 3 5, Von Urff 2 0 0 4, Zanella 2 0 0 4.
