Up against a much improved North Salinas squad on Friday night,
the San Benito boys’ basketball team received double-digit efforts
from four different players and outlasted the visiting Vikings by a
63-52 margin at Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
HOLLISTER
Up against a much improved North Salinas squad on Friday night, the San Benito boys’ basketball team received double-digit efforts from four different players and outlasted the visiting Vikings by a 63-52 margin at Hollister’s Mattson Gym.
Jordan Belton, Cooper Sepulveda and Tyler Rickard paced the Balers with 14 points apiece in the game, while Jacob Tonascia added 11 points in the victory, which improves San Benito to 5-2 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 10-9 overall.
Playing for the first time in a week, San Benito’s win against North High on Friday was a much closer contest than the previous time the two teams met up on Jan. 5 — a 63-43 victory for the Balers, in a game the Vikings were limited to single-digit point totals in each of the first three quarters.
Although San Benito led 18-10 after the first quarter Friday, North High cut the deficit in the second quarter and trailed by just a 24-23 margin at the break.
But a pull-away third stanza by the Balers, a quarter in which San Benito outscored North Salinas by an 18-7 edge, supplied the home team with a comfortable cushion entering the final period.
“We had pulled away in the third quarter … but you’ve got to give them credit,” said San Benito head coach Tracy Carpenter, as North High not only kept pace with the Balers in the fourth quarter, but also outscored them, 22-21.
North High’s Daniel Vann-Victorino led the Vikings with 10 points.
“It wasn’t our best game, but we found a way to win,” Carpenter added.
The Balers didn’t shoot particularly well, the head coach said, connecting on just 3 of 20 from 3-point range.
“That’s not like us at home,” he said.
Nevertheless, the win allows San Benito to keep pace in the TCAL. It entered the contest tied for second place with Palma and Gilroy, with all three teams looking up at Salinas.
But on Friday night, Salinas (7-0) defeated Palma (4-3) and Gilroy (5-2) topped Everett Alvarez (2-5), positioning both the Balers and the Mustangs with matching records in the TCAL behind Salinas.
Next week will be make-or-break for the Balers, though. The team will visit Gilroy Wednesday and will host Palma Friday, with both games scheduled for tip-off at 7 p.m.
“It’s our biggest week of the season,” Carpenter said. “It’s a week that defines us, basically.”
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
NS 10 13 7 22 52
SB 18 6 18 21 63
San Benito (63): J. Belton 4 0 6-8 14, C. Sepulveda 3 2 2-2 14, E. Elayda 1 0 2-2 4, T. Rickard 5 1 1-2 14, D. Gutierrez 1 0 0-0 2, J. Tonascia 3 0 5-8 11, R. Henderson 1 0 0-0 2, H. Miskin 1 0 0-0 2.
