Despite leading for much of the game
— as much as 30 of the 32 minutes, head coach Tracy Carpenter
said — the San Benito Haybalers were unable to escape with a
victory on Thursday night in the opening round of the Cupertino
Shootout, as Los Altos knotted the game in the fourth quarter and
held on for a 52-51 win.
CUPERTINO
Despite leading for much of the game — as much as 30 of the 32 minutes, head coach Tracy Carpenter said — the San Benito Haybalers were unable to escape with a victory on Thursday night in the opening round of the Cupertino Shootout, as Los Altos knotted the game in the fourth quarter and held on for a 52-51 win.
Los Altos’ Bemi Onipede sunk a two-point basket with 14 seconds to go to put the Eagles up by one point. But after calling a timeout, San Benito was unable to get the game-winning shot off.
“It was unfortunate because we played well and led for almost the entire game,” said Carpenter, who noted Los Altos’ size. Eagles Simon Rosenbaum and Scott Yuan, he added, were roughly 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-3, respectively.
The Balers (1-1) still managed to lead 15-8 after the first quarter, 29-20 at halftime and 39-37 entering the final stanza. But Los Altos managed to tie the game in the fourth quarter before the two teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the period.
San Benito’s Cooper Sepulveda, scoring 11 points after going 9 of 12 from the free-throw line, limited Rosenbaum to just four points in the game. However, Los Altos’ Yuan led all scorers with 20 points.
Teammates Andrew Carp and Onipede scored 13 points apiece.
The Balers were led by Eric Elayda, who deposited a team-high 19 points, nine of which was made from behind the arc.
“We played really hard and I was pleased,” Carpenter said, latter adding, “Our young guys are growing up.”
San Benito will return to the Cupertino Shootout on Friday, when it will take on the loser of Thursday’s matchup between Mills and Bellarmine.
Tip-off is 4 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
LA 8 12 17 15 52
SB 15 14 10 12 51
Los Altos (52): Yuan 6 1 5-5 20, Carp 2 3 0-0 13, Kliman 1 0 0-0 2, Onipede 3 1 4-7 13, Rosenbaum 2 0 0-0 4.
San Benito (51): Sepulveda 1 0 9-12 11, Elayda 4 3 2-3 19, Rickard 0 0 5-6 5, Gutierrez 0 1 0-0 3, Tonascia 2 0 1-2 5, Henderson 0 2 0-0 6, Breen 1 0 0-0 2.
