After shocking Gilroy in first meeting, San Benito falls
Hollister – It’s never easier the second time around, not that San Benito was expecting it to be.
The Haybalers boys basketball team ran into the Gilroy team everyone was expecting to see and the Mustangs dominated every aspect of a 58-32 Tri-County Athletic League victory at home Friday.
“Tonight they played like the team they should be,” San Benito coach John Becerra said. “I still say our guys battle and do the best they can.”
The ‘Balers (8-15, 4-5 TCAL) sent shockwaves through the league with their 70-62 win on the road at Gilroy on Jan. 10, but they also lit a fire in Gilroy (15-7, 6-3), which has lost only to first-place Palma since.
“They beat us at our home and kind of embarrassed us,” said Mustangs’ guard Javin Charlot, who scored a game-high 12 points. “We had to come back and steal the win (here).”
At the end of a tightly played first quarter, that included three ties and four lead changes, San Benito’s Carlos Ramos swished in a jumper at the buzzer to make it a 13-12 Gilroy lead.
But the Mustangs started to pull away early in the second. Kevin Siha drained a 3-pointer two minutes in and Kameron Handy followed with another trey as Gilroy took a 21-12 lead.
Handy had eight of his 10 points in the period as the Mustangs took a 33-21 advantage into the break.
Any hopes San Benito still had quickly vanished in the third. Gilroy came out fired up and the ‘Balers were no match for its size or strength as the Mustangs started the quarter on a 13-2 run to make it 46-23 with 3:22 left in the third.
The Mustangs kept pushing in the fourth and San Benito couldn’t find any offense as it was outscored 25-11 in the second half.
Gilroy’s size proved to be a major factor. While Jason Conrad was limited to five points, the 6-foot-10 junior grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots. Spencer Ford, a 6-11 senior, had five blocks and helped alter several other shots.
“They kept attacking us inside, which I admire them for,” Gilroy coach Bud Ogden said. “They’re a very, very scrappy team.”
Marty Bueno paced the scoring for San Benito with nine points – all on 3-pointers. Leading scorer Todd Janisch, who came in averaging more than 17 points per game, scored six points in limited minutes.
Despite the result, Becerra enjoyed the atmosphere of the game with a full house on hand and very vociferous student sections.
“There’s nothing like walking into the gym and hearing that crowd,” Becerra said. “That’s neat, that’s something that everybody will remember.”
Gilroy 13 20 13 12 – 58
San Benito 12 9 6 5 – 32Gilroy – Siha 2 0-0 6, Handy 4 1-1 10, Ford 3 0-0 6, Charlot 3 6-7 12, Jensen 1 1-1 3, Johnson 2 0-0 4, Dobson 4 0-1 8, Thomasotti 2 0-0 4, Conrad 2 1-2 5. Totals – 23 9-12 58.
San Benito – Vessey 1 0-0 2, Ramos 2 0-0 4, Bueno 3 0-0 9, Burley 1 0-0 3, Janisch 3 0-0 6, Wilson 1 2-4 4, Zanella 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 2-4 32.3-point goals – Siha 2, Handy, Bueno 3, Burley. Fouled out – none.
