Behind matching 14-point performances from Jeff Keller and
Walbank Mahoni, Menlo-Atherton swiped certain victory from San
Benito’s grasp on Wednesday afternoon with a 46-45 triumph at
Castroville’s North Monterey County High
— the final, game-winning basket coming off a transition lay-up
from Keller with 2.9 seconds remaining.
CASTROVILLE
Menlo-Atherton had the lead in the fourth quarter for all of 2.9 seconds during Wednesday’s championship against San Benito in the Condor Christmas Classic.
And it was enough. Barely.
Behind matching 14-point performances from Jeff Keller and Walbank Mahoni, Menlo-Atherton swiped certain victory from San Benito’s grasp on Wednesday afternoon with a 46-45 triumph at Castroville’s North Monterey County High — the final, game-winning basket coming off a transition lay-up from Keller with 2.9 seconds remaining.
“To lose like that, it’s a tough game,” said San Benito guard Tyler Rickard, who was named to the all-tournament team along with teammate Kyle Vallejo.
While the two teams entered the fourth quarter knotted at 30-all, the Balers controlled the lead for much of the second half; they trailed M-A for only 24 seconds during the entire third and fourth quarter.
But up by one point late in the game, and perhaps needing just a single basket to seal the win, San Benito instead turned the ball over with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. The Bears then sprinted the length of the floor in transition, and Keller drove the lane to deposit the winning basket.
Keller was named MVP of the Condor Christmas Classic.
“They caught us sleeping,” said Rickard, whose three-quarter length shot in the waning seconds sailed right of the basket. “They caught me sleeping anyway.”
Although the one-point loss was perhaps more difficult to swallow than most non-conference games, first-year head coach Tracy Carpenter couldn’t help but recognize his team’s development against Menlo-Atherton, which defeated San Benito’s league rival, Salinas, by a 53-25 margin during Tuesday’s semifinal.
“Basically, we became a basketball team today,” Carpenter said. “Some of the guys are new and we’re not that experienced, but that was our best game.
“We played well. We just didn’t win.”
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Balers, who fall to 7-4 overall on the season. Of San Benito’s four losses, though, three have come by six points or less.
“Finishing games has been difficult for us,” said Rickard, who noted San Benito’s previous game against North Monterey County — a 52-44 victory during Tuesday’s semifinal round, in which the Balers led by as many as 21 points in the second half.
On Wednesday, San Benito’s Eric Elayda finished with a game-high 16 points — 13 in the first half — and pushed the Balers out to an 8-1 lead at the start behind a pair of 3-pointers.
In fact, the speedy guard came off several baseline screens in the first two quarters to drain three 3-pointers, four in the game, and even opened the fourth quarter from behind the arc to help push San Benito out to a 39-33 lead with 4:59 remaining.
“Three games in three days,” Carpenter said. “It was probably tiring.
“But we did play with more intelligence.”
Leading 20-15 at the break, San Benito exhausted the shot clock on each of its possessions early in the second half and struggled to find its offense as a result — held to just a single field goal through four minutes of play.
The Mahoni-led Bears opened the second half on a 8-2 run to grab a one-point lead, while the 6-foot-2 center scored six of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
“We we’re trying to control the tempo and slow the pace of the game,” Carpenter said of San Benito’s offense.
Menlo’s lead was short-lived, though, as San Benito immediately responded when Rickard dished off to Cooper Sepulveda, who drained a trey to give the Balers 25-23 edge with 4:03 remaining in the third.
The Balers would control the lead until 2.9 seconds remaining in the game.
“We followed the game plan and we had a chance to win,” Carpenter said.
Jordan Belton had 11 points behind a 5 of 6 performance from the charity stripe, while both Vallejo and Sepulveda each added six points apiece. The Balers, who have struggled this season from the stripe, was 12 of 17 from the free-throw line on Wednesday.
“Free throws have been an issue, but we’re getting better,” Rickard said.
Prior to opening Tri-County Athletic League play, the Balers will host Stevenson on Jan. 4 at Hollister’s Mattson Gym — San Benito’s first home game this season.
League play then opens two days later when the Balers will visit Everett Alvarez on Jan. 6.
“We were well prepared and I felt good about our offense,” Carpenter said.
“That’s how we have to play to compete with the best teams in our league.”
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
MA 10 5 15 16 46
SB 11 9 10 15 45
Menlo-Atherton (46): R. Foster 1 1 0-0 5, M. Brewer 3 0 1-3 7, J. Keller 3 1 5-7 14, W. Mahoni 5 0 4-5 14, N. Gilbertson 3 0 0-0 6.
San Benito (45): J. Belton 3 0 5-6 11, K. Vallejo 2 0 2-4 6, T. Rickard 0 0 2-2 2, C. Sepulveda 1 1 1-2 6, E. Elayda 2 4 0-0 16, E. Olbring 1 0 2-3 4.
