A 13-0 run to open the game was all No. 5 Carlmont would need on
Thursday night in Belmont, where the host Scots defeated the San
Benito Haybalers 52-39 in the second round of the Central Coast
Section Division I playoffs.
BELMONT
A 13-0 run to open the game was all No. 5 Carlmont would need on Thursday night in Belmont, where the host Scots defeated the San Benito Haybalers 52-39 in the second round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
“We were fairly well prepared. We just didn’t shoot the ball well to start the game,” San Benito head coach Tracy Carpenter said.
The 13-point loss eliminates the No. 12 Balers (14-12) from the postseason, while Carlmont advances to Saturday’s quarterfinal round where it will square off against No. 4 Gilroy (18-6).
Tip-off is 4:30 p.m., at Independence High in San Jose.
The story surrounding Thursday night’s second round action in Belmont was the start of the game, however. The 13-point deficit led to a 16-4 first-quarter lead for the Scots, and a 27-14 lead at halftime.
“We just didn’t shoot well at the start of the game … and that was it,” Carpenter said. “After that we were fine.”
Jordan Belton and Cooper Sepulveda each deposited 10 points apiece to lead the Balers, while teammate Evan Olbring added eight. Junior guard Tyler Rickard, who had 11 points against Monta Vista on Tuesday, finished with just one point after he suffered a shoulder injury at the start of the third quarter, and missed the majority of the second half as a result.
San Benito came within nine points with two and a half minutes remaining in regulation, but was unable to make up the difference.
Carlmont’s James Testa led all scorers with 20 points, while teammate Suhail Mohammadi poured in 14.
Although rival Gilroy waited in the following round, perhaps as added motivation for the Balers, upsetting Carlmont at home proved to be a tall task. The Scots were 13-0 at home entering Thursday night’s contest, and had won 23 straight games in Belmont dating back to last season.
“But they hustled, they worked hard and we improved greatly from the start of the season until now,” said Carpenter, who officially wraps up his first season at San Benito. “It’s been like two different teams.”
The Balers will lose seven seniors from next year’s team, including Devin Wingo, Kyle Vallejo, Evan Olbring, Brian Mendoza, James King, Isidro Corral and Josh Brooks.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SANB 4 10 13 12 39
CRLM 16 11 14 11 52
San Benito (39): J. Belton 3 0 4-7 10, K. Vallejo 2 0 0-0 4, T. Rickard 0 0 1-2 1, C. Sepulveda 1 2 2-3 10, E. Elayda 0 0 2-3 2, D. Wingo 2 0 0-0 4, E. Olbring 4 0 0-0 8.
Carlmont (52): D. Mendiola 0 0 5-7 5, B. Barret 1 0 0-0 2, S. Mohammadi 4 1 3-3 14, J. Testa 4 3 3-3 20, T. Crawford 2 0 1-2 5, B. Stovall 1 0 0-0 2, A. Hsu 2 0 0-0 4.
