Palma defeats San Benito 43-36 at Mattson Gym Thursday
Hollister – The San Benito Haybalers were this close.
Up against the Palma Chieftains, a team many have penciled in as the front-runner for the Tri-County Athletic League crown, the San Benito boys basketball team certainly gave the Salinas squad a scare Thursday night at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
But a high-pressure defense from Palma, and a low-scoring output from San Benito, resulted in a 43-36 loss for the ‘Balers.
But it was close.
“We’re really close,” said San Benito forward Kevin Burley, who led the ‘Balers with 10 points and six rebounds on the night. “It was just six points, and our offense didn’t really play that well. We are where we need to be defensively, but offensively, we need to pick it up a little bit more.”
After opening the game on fire, with Tim Von Urff and Tyler Ruiz each hitting treys in the first quarter to put San Benito ahead 14-6, the ‘Balers battled for the remainder of the contest.
They were held to just 22 points for the remaining three quarters after shooting 28 percent (14 of 50) for the game.
“We weren’t running our plays,” said Ruiz, who had six points on the night, all of which came from downtown. “We had 22 points in three quarters. That’s not good for a team like us.”
Coach John Becerra expressed the same sentiment after the game, adding that Palma’s pressure was upped in the remaining three quarters.
“They became more physical on us,” he said. “I believe we stopped running our patterns. We didn’t run our offensive pattern very well. We dribbled too much.
“But they brought more pressure. That was probably the most pressure we’ve faced defensively.”
The ‘Balers lost the turnover margin as a result, but it was close at just 25-24. Said Becerra, “We are our worst enemy with turning the ball over.”
After San Benito held a somewhat comfortable 14-6 first-quarter lead, the Chieftains opened the second on a 9-0 run that had the ‘Balers suddenly trailing.
A Jamil Taylor one-handed slam dunk put an end to the streak, as well as sent a shockwave through the Mattson Gym crowd, but San Benito saw themselves behind 21-20 at halftime nonetheless.
The ‘Balers only trailed by two points after three quarters, but Palma pushed ahead in the fourth after starting the final stanza on a 5-0 run.
San Benito trailed by as many as nine points with under two minutes left in regulation when Marty Bueno and Ruiz each hit a basket from behind the arc, but the Chieftains kept the ‘Balers at bay by running down the shot clock on almost every possession toward the end of the game.
“We’re close,” Becerra said. “We battled with them and they’re a strong, physical team.”
Bueno had nine for San Benito, while Palma’s Clark Fox had a game-high 17 points. Chieftain John Bonano added 12 for Palma, who shot 36 percent (13 of 36) from the field.
The Chieftains got plenty of points from the charity stripe, however, hitting 15 of 22 on the night, and Bonano was the main beneficiary.
“He likes to drive a lot and draw the foul,” said Brian Haggett of Bonano, who guarded the Chieftain through much of the game. “He wants to go to the hole and he’s pretty strong.”
Haggett, who scored six points Thursday, picked up his third foul early in the second quarter.
“We’re one of the top teams in the league,” he added. “We just have to go down there and beat them at their place now.”
San Benito (1-1 TCAL, 11-6 overall) will host Gilroy (0-1, 6-10) on Saturday. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.
“We’ll get Gilroy, for sure,” Ruiz said. “They’re a tough team, but we should be able to handle them.”
Team 1 2 3 4 F
SB 14 6 8 8 36
PAL 6 15 9 13 43
SB (36) – Bueno 4-17 0-0 9, Burley 5-7 0-0 10, Haggett 1-8 4-4 6, Ruiz 2-8 0-0 6, Taylor 1-2 0-0 2, Von Urff 1-4 0-0 3.
Three-point goals: Bueno 1, Ruiz 2, Von Urff 1.
JV Note: The San Benito junior varsity team fell to Palma 39-36 Thursday at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
Trailing by 10 at the half, San Benito was behind by only one point with three seconds remaining in regulation, but rimmed out what would have been the game-winning shot.
San Benito will play Gilroy Saturday. Tip-off is at 12:30 p.m.
Frosh Note: The San Benito freshman team defeated Palma 49-39 Thursday at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
The squad improves to 2-0 in the TCAL, 12-4 overall.
The Haybalers will host Gilroy Saturday. Tip-off is at 11 a.m.
