San Benito beats Salinas 54-47 for fifth straight win, Palma
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An in-game adjustment by Salinas slowed the San Benito boys basketball team Saturday at Mattson Gym in Hollister, but it couldn’t stop them.
Tyler Ruiz scored 14 points and Tim Von Urff added 11 to lead the Haybalers past Salinas 54-47, setting up San Benito’s first-place face-off at Palma this week.
Both teams will enter Wednesday’s contest with matching 6-1 records in the Tri-County Athletic League. But if San Benito has any intention of upsetting the Chieftains in Salinas, they know they’ll have to perform better than Saturday’s showing against the Cowboys.
“If we play like that, we’re gonna have a lot of trouble,” said Brian Haggett, who had eight points, four steals and three assists against Salinas.
The ‘Balers opened an 8-0 lead at the start on 6 of 11 shooting from the field, 8 of 10 from the line, and took a 20-8 lead to the second quarter.
But the Cowboys, which began pressing midway through the first quarter, switched to a 1-3-1 zone, and slowed San Benito’s transition game.
“They switched to a zone. We just didn’t shoot as good,” Haggett said. “It kind of slowed us down because we were running our transition.”
Coach John Becerra called it a “subdued game.”
“It kind of slowed us up,” Becerra said of the zone. “It slowed us down because we didn’t make the baskets, but we were taking good shots. It was kind of one of those days.”
Aside from San Benito’s hot streak at the start, they finished with 38 percent (21 of 56) shooting from the field, 69 percent (11 of 16) from the line.
Their 12-point first-quarter cushion, though, prevented any Salinas comeback. The Cowboys never led in the contest, and the ‘Baler defense made sure of it.
Von Urff and Ruiz had five and four rebounds, respectively, while Marty Bueno supplied nine points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals. Haggett had four steals and three assists, while Kevin Burley had five points, four steals and three assists.
Obviously, steals were rather plentiful for San Benito, as the team’s up-close-and-personal defense forced 21 turnovers on Salinas. The Cowboys shot an impressive 44 percent (18 of 41) from the field, but the turnovers influenced the team’s output, as San Benito took 15 more attempts.
“They were pressuring us and bothering us a little bit, but we adjusted and got going,” Becerra said.
The ‘Balers took a 31-20 lead to the half and easily broke down Salinas’ press at the start of the third, where Ruiz was the main beneficiary, scoring six points in the first 30 seconds of the second half.
Salinas cut the margin to six at one point in the fourth, as San Benito did not sink a fourth-quarter basket until 2:21 remaining in regulation. But the ‘Balers tenacious defense forced five turnovers in the final stanza, and kept the Cowboys from getting any closer.
Will Wallace led Salinas with 14 points, while Dmitri Rivers added 12.
San Benito will play Wednesday at Palma. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
SB 20 11 17 6 54
SAL 8 12 15 12 47
SB (54) – Bueno 3-11 2-2 9, Burley 1-4 3-4 5, Canchola 2-4 1-3 5, Haggett 4-14 0-1 8, Ruiz 7-16 0-0 14, Taylor 1-2 0-0 2, Von Urff 3-3 4-6 11.
Three-point goals: Bueno 1, Von Urff 1.
SAL (47) – Lewington 1-3 4-4 7, Neal 3-8 0-2 7, Rivers 6-8 0-0 12, Vasher 2-6 2-3 7, Wallace 6-9 0-0 14.
Three-point goals: Lewington 1, Neal 1, Vasher 1, Wallace 2.
JV Note:
The San Benito junior varsity team fell 54-42 to Salinas on Saturday at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
The Haybalers trailed by 12 points after one quarter, and although they cut the deficit to just three points during the game, the Cowboys managed to increase their lead once again.
San Benito will play at Palma Wednesday. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.
