Behind Eric Elayda’s team-high 13 points
— nine of which were scored from behind the arc — the Balers
opened up the game in the second and third quarters en route to an
easy 55-41 victory against the Pirates at Hollister’s Mattson Gym,
in which 12 different Balers found the score sheet when it was all
over.
HOLLISTER
How do you bounce back from a difficult, last-second, one-point loss?
The San Benito Haybalers had the antidote Monday night against visiting Stevenson, just four days after narrowly falling to Menlo-Atherton in the Condor Christmas Classic championship by a tight, one-point margin.
“Every team is different,” said San Benito head coach Tracy Carpenter.
Behind Eric Elayda’s team-high 13 points — nine of which were scored from behind the arc — the Balers opened up the game in the second and third quarters en route to an easy 55-41 victory against the Pirates at Hollister’s Mattson Gym, in which 12 different Balers found the score sheet when it was all over.
While it was San Benito’s first home game this season, Monday’s win also marked the team’s final non-conference match of the preseason. The Balers, at 8-4, will open Tri-County Athletic League play on Thursday against Everett Alvarez.
“It was nice to finish the preseason with a win,” Carpenter said. “Everyone got to play.”
The Balers pushed the game out of reach over the second and third quarters, where they took a 9-8 lead after eight minutes and converted it into a 46-31 cushion.
“We just kind of tightened up on defense,” Carpenter said. “We extended it full court and got some steals, and that was kind of the difference.”
The Balers pressed for most of the game, leading to several Stevenson turnovers and San Benito transition lay-ups.
San Benito outscored Stevenson 22-14 in the second quarter and 15-9 in the third.
While Pirate Brian Bhaskar led all scorers with 16 points, San Benito’s balanced attack was too much for Stevenson to overcome. Cooper Sepulveda finished with nine points for the Balers, while both Evan Olbring and Tyler Rickard each added seven points apiece.
Jordan Belton and Kyle Vallejo had four points apiece.
The Balers, who have now won five of their last six games, will open the TCAL on Thursday against Everett Alvarez at the Salinas Boys and Girls Club.
Tip-off is 7 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
STEV 8 14 9 10 41
SANB 9 22 15 9 55
San Benito (55): J. Belton 1 0 2-4 4, K. Vallejo 2 0 0-0 4, T. Rickard 1 1 2-2 7, J. Canchola 1 0 0-1 2, C. Sepulveda 2 1 2-2 9, J. King 1 0 0-0 2, E. Elayda 2 3 0-0 13, D. Wingo 1 0 0-0 2, J. Hunter 0 0 1-2 1, E. Olbring 3 0 1-2 7, I. Corral 1 0 0-1 2, B. Mendoza 1 0 0-0 2.
See Friday’s edition of The Weekend Pinnacle for a TCAL preview.
