The San Benito High boys basketball team brings its 9-2 record
home for the first time this season tonight against Pacific Grove.
Tip off is set for 7pm.
The wait is finally over for local basketball fans. After nearly a month of playing on the road, the Haybalers are at home tonight for the first time this season to take on the 6-2 Breakers of Pacific Grove, a very talented team with a lot of experience led by Troy Smith and A.J. Walker, both varsity players since their sophomore years.
San Benito has had a great start to its 2004-05 season. At
9-2, the team is right on track for a run at the Tri-County Athletic League title. Of course, there is still a whole lot of basketball left to be played this season but, given the way the Balers have been dealing with the challenges put forth to them, the sky seems to be the limit for this team.
This team deals extremely well with adversity. After winning its first two games of the Bob Hagen tournament in Gilroy earlier this month, San Benito lost to Monterey in the championship game by one point, their second loss of the season.
This could have spelled trouble for the Balers had they allowed themselves to get discouraged by the loss given the fact that they had to turn around the following week and play not only Monterey again, but a very tough St. Francis team as well.
They got the job done. The Haybalers rebounded from the loss in the Bob Hagen Tournament’s championship game with a 60-56 win over St. Francis after trailing by 10 at the half and then down 49-36 in the fourth. Kyle Sharp had 32 points in the comeback win and Vince Bautista hit three key three-pointers. Two days later, the Balers got their revenge against Monterey with a 61-59 win that saw Sharp score 21, Eric Davis score 16 and Danny Isaacson and Henry Taylor each add 10.
And out of all of the team’s strong finishes in the fourth quarter and out of all of the close wins and the couple of close losses the Balers have had this season, the victory against St. Francis might have been the most telling of all.
“It was a game where we were behind the whole time against a strong, experienced team,” said San Benito head coach David Kaplansky. “And the fact that we were just coming off the Monterey loss, I think the guys showed a lot of character in the fourth quarter to pull off the victory on the road against a good program like St. Francis.”
The Balers are really starting to fire on all cylinders as their January 13 date with Gilroy to kick off league play approaches. Sharp is averaging nearly 27 points a game and is providing the team with leadership on the court, as well as deflating the opposition’s mindset with an above-the-rim game to compliment his solid shooting and defensive skills. Davis is doing a great job of handling the ball while averaging 13 points a game. Danny Isaacson and Henry Taylor are each averaging over seven points a game as well.
“We’ve challenged ourselves with a good preseason where we found ourselves in tight situations,” Kaplansky said. “I’m hoping that these tight games and playing these strong opponents will give us confidence for league. We’re continuing to work hard in practice, stressing the fundamentals and keeping the kids in shape. And I feel that with preparation and hard work, we can accomplish a lot this season.”
